The Bakery
by aminerklarinen
Summary: Sasori owns a bakery-cafe which nurtures a very intense love triangle: the place's only waiter, Deidara, develops a crush on one of its regulars, Sakura. Unfortunately, she likes newcomer Itachi and it's her friend Hinata who's much more interested in him
1. How it Began

"HELLO ladies," Deidara leaned forward on the glass table and smiled foxily. "What can I get for you today, hmmm?"

Sakura Haruno looked up and inspected the blonde with undisguised disgust. She inched away from him and glared pointedly at her friend, Hinata Hyuuga, who just looked down at the chessboard black-and-white tiled floor shyly. She'd always been like this around guys, but ever since she and Sakura had decided to frequent the bakery, she'd taken a liking to the place's only waiter. It annoyed the heck out of Sakura, who found the guy utterly repulsive.

"Ew," the pink-haired girl declared. Deidara laughed and instead focused his attention on Hinata, flicking his blonde fringe in the process. _Blushing, as always. _

"An iced chocolate for you, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata smiled bashfully and looked up at him. "Okay," she said, her voice a whisper. Deidara smiled and turned back to the girl he _truthfully _liked a bit more. She was feisty, and had stuck in his memory ever since she first came. Deidara smiled wider at the memory. The clumsy girl had spilled her drink—a strawberry and white chocolate float—and Deidara had to go on all fours to wipe it up. At one point, he couldn't help but sneak a look at her legs, which were _really _in his face, considering his was under their table, and she'd seen him and kneed him in the face. The kneeing had caused an endless nosebleed, and Sakura had not even apologized when she knocked over the table, too, and broke it. It was at this point that Hinata handed him Deidara her handkerchief, and—

"Hel_lo_?"

Sakura waved her hand in front of Deidara's face, as if trying to swat a fly. "Are you _there_?"

_God, could this guy get any creepier? _

"Sorry," Deidara grinned widely and rolled up his crisp white sleeves. He flicked his fringe again. "What was that, un?"

"A mocha," Sakura enunciated each word carefully, as if Deidara was a small, difficult child, and she was trying to teach him. "And a slice of mud,"

As soon as the last word slipped from her mouth, she looked away from him and fixed her eyes on her friend. Deidara sniffed and walked away, a black serving tray tucked under his arm. He hummed a small tune and lifted up the counter, going around it and turning one of the knobs of the coffee machine. Behind him, metallic clangs sounded from the kitchen, and he heard low murmurs. He could tell one of the men in there were angry, but he shrugged.

_Meh. Not my problem. _He turned the knob back the other way and reached for the creamer.

Sasori watched Sai critically as he punched a well into the ball of dough.

"This is your third time," he said under his breath. "Do it well, or leave,"  
Sai watched as his teacher walked away and opened one of their large commercial ovens. Unfazed by the heat that pulsated from within it, Sasori reached in and put a hand just over the small buns inside. Sai averted his gaze down to his dough and sank his fingers into it. He certainly did not want to disappoint again, despite his complete lack of EQ and general knowledge when it came to pleasing people. It was one of the reasons he'd applied for this place, and alas one of the reasons why Sasori hired him. Deidara had clearly been a mistake—the vivacious flirt he was—but it was unfortunate that the redhead had gotten too used to him and didn't really want to have him replaced. After all, a newcomer would only mean training, and training meant Sasori had to interact.

"We're out of mud cake, danna,"

Deidara walked into the room with the empty plate. There were dark brown crumbs scattered around its surface, and there was a smear of chocolate. Sai looked between the two. He'd always found it odd that, out of all things, Deidara called Sasori _danna, _but then again, who was he to critique the nicknames one gave another? Considering he was a walking blank page. Unthinking, unfeeling…but still, he often pondered how _danna _came about, considering _he, _Sai, was the apprentice baker. Deidara was just the person who managed the bakery's shop-front.

Sasori looked at Deidara placidly and walked over. He took the plate from the blonde, who was now very close to his height. Deidara smiled at him.

"Sleep much last night?" he chirruped, folding his arms. A nearby oven pinged. Sasori rolled his eyes slowly and turned away, sighing. He put the plate in the sink and opened the nozzle. A steady rush of water came out and he directed it onto the plate. He always wanted to ignore Deidara's questions, but Sai was as boring as they came, and Sasori had to admit he was kind of glad for Deidara's talkativeness, and that it was kind of _fun _berating him for no reason.

"Go back to work, Iwa,"

Deidara laughed shortly and shook his head, his blonde ponytail swishing. He waved at Sai, who didn't know what to do in response, and walked back out again. Sasori shut the nozzle again and walked over to the shelves. He took out a huge tub of castor sugar and glanced at Sai. He sniffed a little in approval and extracted a metal mixing bowl.

Deidara walked back out. Hinata glanced at him and reddened, both her hands grasping her glass tumbler. Sakura through him another dirty look over her shoulder. She had nothing in her hair for once, and Deidara wondered if he should tell her that she looked better this way. _Probably not. She'd totally kick my a—_

A bell rang and Deidara looked to the door. A black-haired male with heavy lines slashing across his cheeks from the inner corners of his eyes walked in. Deidara almost whistled to himself at the guy's obvious physical attractiveness.

"Good morning," he said. "What can I do for you?"

Sakura turned around and did a double-take. The guy standing there was…

…_gorgeous. _She bit her lip. Hinata just looked down at her cup, saying nothing at her friend's obvious interest in the newcomer.

Itachi looked around the store and inhaled the scent of freshly baked bread. His effeminate eyes scanned the curved glass display and behind them, the cupcakes, slices and biscuits neatly on show. He looked at the blonde dude who worked there and smiled dimly.

"I want a… to order a cake," he said softly. Deidara raised an eyebrow. _Shy guy, or guy who doesn't like talking much? _

"Sure thing," Deidara whipped out a notepad. _We'll see. _"What cake are you after?"

Sakura's eyes lingered on the Itachi's back before she turned back to face Hinata, who smiled at her knowingly.

"He's mine," Sakura whispered, a sparkle in her green eyes.


	2. Itachi and Sasuke

Deidara finished the invoice with his name and the time printed neatly. He ripped the page out of the book carefully and handed it over to Itachi, who accepted it wordlessly and put it in his brown leather wallet.

"Anything else?" the blonde asked, covering his mouth as he coughed a bit. He glanced behind Itachi and saw Sakura checking the guy out with shameless and almost lecherous adoration. At this, he felt a little tug at his heart but it came and passed quickly. He turned his attention back to the guy in front of him. Deidara wondered if his skin was really that flawless, or if he used makeup. Deidara himself used just a dash of eyeliner, and wasn't ashamed to admit it. One of his mates, Tobi, had jokingly called it "guyliner", and, of course, Deidara had punched him in the face.

"I'll have a long black…to go," Itachi eventually said. Deidara tapped a few buttons on the cash register.

"That'll be four dollars thirty—thanks,"

Deidara accepted the five dollar note, gave Itachi his change, and then set about making it.

"Isn't he _hot_? Who is he?" Sakura said breathlessly. She'd never seen him before. Her eyes kept scanning Itachi's back, and she wondered briefly if Deidara knew his name. _Screw it, _she thought, _getting his name out of the blonde is worth it, even if I have to flirt. _She knew asking Hinata was a complete no-brainer, since Deidara knew Hinata obviously had a genuine thing for him, but the Hyuuga could barely utter three words around the guy let alone _flirt _with him. Itachi turned around slightly to examine the framed photographs on the wall opposite and Sakura could not remove her eyes.

_His long eyelashes…ohmygod, they're perfect._

Hinata kept her hands hugged around her glass, even though her drink was almost finished. She licked her upper lip daintily. She knew the black-haired man was handsome, but—

Deidara whipped around, twisting the plastic lid onto the top of Itachi's takeaway cup. He put it down on the counter and whipped a cardboard holder out of nowhere and put the drink in it. Itachi took it carefully.  
"Come again, yeah?" Deidara chirped, wiping the counter. His eyes always glimmered as he talked; it was what Hinata loved about him most.

_If only I could…just…_

The bell rang again as Itachi opened the door and swept out, keeping himself very hunched together. Sakura grasped Hinata's hand suddenly, her eyes ablaze.

"We _have _to find out his name," she said zealously, shaking Hinata's hand as she spoke. She jerked her head in the direction of Deidara, who was watching them with a huge grin on his face. "Go. Ask him, Hinata,"

Hinata looked away and down at Sakura's hand around her own.

"Come _on! _You're gonna have to talk to him someday, and you might as well start now,"

_I know…_Hinata thought. She glanced up at her crush, and found that he had gone back inside the kitchen again. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to step up to the challenge.

_Do it. Just do it. _

"Okay," she said. Sakura's eyes widened with excitement.

"Okay! It's settled—oh, Hinata," Sakura removed her hand from Hinata's and ran her finger along the rim of her mug. "You'll be _fine. _I promise—just don't let your shyness take over! _Never _miss opportunities, okay? Or you'll regret it—_for the rest of your life_," Sakura stressed the last six words and looked at Hinata with a hardened expression on her face.

Sakura watched her friend get up with frustrating slowness. She loathed Deidara, but she wasn't about to stop her friend from crushing on him or possibly dating him—no, she wasn't _that _mean. It was probably an advantage: maybe he would give them discounts in the future and she could save the money for other things, like shoes.

Deidara walked back out, licking cream from his fingers, which he'd secretly taken while Sai wasn't looking. The silent-as-ever nin was making a batch of cream puffs which someone had ordered for some party .Deidara's eyes widened momentarily when he saw Hinata, just standing there, her arms stiffly by her sides. Deidara threw a look at Sakura, who had her back to him.

"Hello, Hinata," he said. "What's up?"

Sakura picked her nails nervously despite herself.

"Dei…Deidara," Hinata began. She wasn't sure where to start—she was just trying to ask for that guy's name, right? But did you just go up to people and ask that sort of thing? Or did you sort of try and steer a conversation in that direction and then shoot? She cleared her throat resolutely. "Deidara-kun, I have a…a question?"

Hinata's cheeks flamed up immediately and she was suddenly greeted with the usual wave of regret she had whenever she talked to people unnecessarily…usually when Sakura made her. Deidara pushed his sleeves up past his elbow again and flipped his fringe. Sakura, who had glanced over out of restlessness, rolled her eyes at the blonde's obviously purposeful moves to make people notice his hair.

_You're in no way _desirable, _Deidara, _she sniffed inside her head.

"…Okay," Deidara answered slowly. "Shoot," he had a mini indecision in his head, wondering if smiling would help or hinder Hinata. He decided he shouldn't.

"Um…I was just wondering…,"

_Come on, Hinata! _Sakura thought, taking a sip of her mocha anxiously, trying not to just get her ass out of her chair and take charge. She really wanted to give Hinata a chance with Deidara, _and what better way to start the conversation? She would never say anything otherwise, right? _

After all, Hinata pretty much always helped Sakura if it was within her capabilities. And _talking _was definitely within that.

Deidara raised a single eyebrow and glanced at Sakura yet again, who had turned around in her chair and was looked from side to side in a highly conspicuous manner. Deidara sighed and flipped his fringe back, his fingers feeling for the bobby pin that was stuck in his hair _some_where. He found it and secured his fringe back from his face. Hinata inspected his new appearance.

_You're certainly very handsome, Deidara-kun…_

Sakura, surprisingly, especially to herself, was also fleetingly stunned by how the waiter looked without his giant, face-covering fringe. However, she wasn't about to allow herself to comment favorably upon another guy's looks after Itachi.

_Hmph. No can do, blondie, _Sakura thought on memory of catching Deidara staring at her legs. _Perve._

Deidara scratched the left side of his face, still waiting for Hinata to ask her question, and actually getting kind of annoyed by her slowness.

"That…that guy who just came in," Hinata managed. She saw Deidara's mouth curl up in a dim smile. The sight of it encouraged her, and she said: "do you…do you know his name?"

_But of course. _Deidara thought. He sighed loudly, dramatically, and put his hands on his hips. Behind him, Sai laid out another loaf of bread, glancing at the situation with little interest.

_Sakura, you demon, ask me yourself if you're so interested in that pretty boy, hmm_, Deidara thought, but out loud he said "Hot, isn't he?" with a hint of cheekiness. He heard Sakura sigh in exasperation and decided to keep to this line of conversation. Stirring Sakura up was definitely one of his favorite daily routines, because come to think of it, all the others were dead-boring. The two came unfailingly came here every day after school, occasionally had some platinum blonde tagging along. Also unfailingly, Deidara would make Sakura angry. It wasn't exactly a hard thing to do.

Hinata's red cheeks went redder, even though she knew Deidara was just kidding. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest and she felt choked. She really wanted to tell Deidara not to listen to Sakura's judgments, and tell him that in her opinion, he was _much _hotter, but she couldn't. It was easier to just agree. It would take—very bluntly—much less cojones.

"Yes, but—do you know…his name?" she sputtered. Deidara suddenly felt a surge of warmth for Sakura's friend. He shot a look at the shock of pink hair at the table and cursed Sakura for forcing Hinata to do it.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan," he said, fake affection dripping from his every word. "But I'm afraid_ Sakura_ is gonna have to try find out herself,"

At this, Sakura turned around and gave him one of her trademark glares, which induced a hearty laugh from Deidara. Hinata smiled at Deidara's laugh and returned to she and Sakura's table, her cheeks still ablaze. She patted them with a hand and bit her lip.

"Very funny," Sakura hissed. "C'mon, Hinata, let's go,"

The Haruno dragged her friend by the wrist. The bell rang again as the door was opened and closed, and the café was silent once more. Deidara sighed in amusement, then slid into a thoughtful silence.

_Hey now, if she really hates me as much as she implies, then she won't come back each day, now, would she?  
_

_

* * *

_  
Itachi took the last sip from his long black and then tossed it in the bin. It had been very dark and bitter, just the way he liked it. He'd already made plans to return to the place, and not just for the cake. _It'd be a nice place to read._

"Sasuke?"

He looked around the kitchen, the living room. Then he walked upstairs. The house keys jangled melodically in his hands.

"Sasu—,"

Sasuke's bulk whipped out before Itachi's eyes, his eyes murky. He glared at his older brother.

"What?"

Itachi blinked a few times before answering. "What do you want for dinner?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't care,"

Itachi frowned slightly. Ever since he'd hinted at moving from their old family home into a new city, Sasuke had been foul. Not that the younger boy's attitude had always been bright and sunny, but lately he had been particularly crabby and difficult to deal with. Itachi didn't care: he knew that the traditional _washitsu _(Japanese style room) that served as the Uchiha family's home brought too many bad memories with it, and had honestly thought it'd be healthy for his younger brother to be in a new place. He thought of the two girls he'd seen in the bakery-café.

_They look about Sasuke's age, _he noted thoughtfully.

"Then we'll eat out" he told Sasuke, who shrugged again and sniffed haughtily.

"But we'll go early. You have school tomorrow…,"

Sasuke absorbed this piece of information and cast his eyes down to the floor defensively. He already hated their new home, so how would Itachi expect him to like his new _school_?

"Whatever," he grunted. He slammed the door behind him. Itachi's hands clenched around his keys tighter and he walked away, wondering if it would be weird to go back to the café just to have a less tense place to just think.

_No, _he thought as he padded downstairs again. _I can deal with this tonight. I'll return tomorrow. _


	3. The newcomers

"Chōji!"

Chōza Akimichi nudged his son roughly. "Don't make me sorry for finally allowing you to work at the family restaurant! Now go say hi to the newcomers!"

Shikamara Nara chuckled next to them, leaning back against the tabletop. "Ah…Chōji, you should probably go…,"

"You're not much better, son," Shikaku Nara commented. Shikamaru threw him a withered look as Chōza continued to egg Chōji on with promises of food afterward. Someone burped behind them. They all turned and saw Tsume Inuzuka staring in annoyance at her son, who had propped his legs up on the table.

"How 'bout I go, Akimichi-sama?"

"Kiba," Tsume hissed. "Get your legs off the table!"

"Tsume, do not worry about it," Chōza held up a palm and smiled gently. "My restaurant is all about enjoying your food, and if this is how Kiba enjoys his, then let it be…," he turned to Kiba. "And Kiba, I appreciate your offer to help, but this must be _Ch__ō__ji _who does it. Right, Chōji?"

Chōji rolled his eyes, practically salivating as a waiter passed them by with a half-empty plate of deep fried squid tentacles. Shikamaru watched his friend with decreasing amusement. He was really getting bored of this place, and would have left if it wasn't for the fact that his own father, Shikaku, had also forced him to come here to greet the two guys who had recently moved in. He sighed loudly and took a sip of water.

The only thing they all knew about them were that they were Uchihas, and according to both Chōza and Shikaku, you only had to look at them to know. They both looked moody, quiet, reserved. Kiba had commented here that they just looked boring and maybe they all looked the same because of inbreeding. He was met with complete silence, until Tsume got her bearings together and whacked her son over the head with a pair of tongs.

Across the room, Itachi was surprised that Sasuke had eaten so much: three bowls of rice, and not to mention how much he'd consumed from the main dishes. Itachi was tickled pink by it: at least Sasuke wasn't staging a hunger strike to try and move again.

"You done?" Itachi asked, watching as Sasuke put down his chopsticks and wipe his mouth. The younger Uchiha's eyes were trained somewhere else, and when Itachi followed his gaze, he found nobody and nothing in particular. The pink-haired girl he'd seen from earlier that day wasn't around, but there was a small cluster of same-aged guys at the other end, all huddled near the kitchen. Itachi had a nasty feeling they were talking about them, and decided he didn't care less about it. It came with being new to the town.

Sasuke nodded slowly and as the two of them got up, a fat, brown-haired teenager shot out in front of their table. It was clear he had been pushed.

"H—hi!" Chōji shouted a little overzealously. Beside him, Shikamaru folded his arms and after glaring at his dad, averted his eyes from the situation in front of him. Chōji glanced nervously at his friend. "I'm Chōji,"

Back near the kitchen, Kiba sighed and got up. "I'm helping those losers," he declared, wiping his slightly greasy mouth with the back of his sleeve. Tsume had given up and was just rolling her eyes, shoveling rice into her mouth. Her son walked with great bravado over to the table. He inspected the two brothers with interest and pushed Shikamaru and Chōji apart, trying to get a better look at them.

"Your dads were right," he nodded. "So, how far've you gone?"

"Uh…," Chōji began.

Sasuke watched the three of them blankly, getting slightly impatient. The fresh faces only reminded him just how little he knew of the new city, and he hated it with a passion. He glared at Itachi again, but somehow couldn't bring himself to just shove past these three and get the hell out.

"Alright, you're useless," Kiba remarked. He held out a hand that either Itachi or Sasuke could take. "I'm Kiba Inuzuka. Welcome to the town, and forget these two, they can't talk,"

Sasuke just stared at the guy's cheeks, which were painted red in an obvious clan insignia, while Itachi reached over politely and shook the boy's hand. He, too, didn't need to know Kiba's name to know he was an Inuzuka: the red triangles gave him away. Not to mention his sharp nails and teeth.

"Shut up, Kiba," Chōji whined, but the Inuzuka's entrance had sparked a confidence in him, and remembering his dad's promise of a "feast" if he spoke to the two, decided to offer some niceties as well.

"Yeah—I'm Chōji Akimichi…my dad owns this restaurant, and he said you guys can have 20% off seeing as its your first night here. We do that to all our new customers," he burbled. "And yeah…this is Shikamaru Nara,"

At the mention of his name, Shikamaru sighed in exasperation and turned to face the Uchihas. "Yeah. Hi, nice to meet you," then he nudged Kiba's arm off from around his shoulder and walked away. Chōji watched his best friend leave and then glanced back furtively at the Uchihas.

"So, um—you're starting school tomorrow, right?"

It took a while for Sasuke to realize that the question was addressed at him. He blinked a few times and brushed his hair back from his face, wondering if he should answer it. He nodded.

"Yeah,"

Kiba nodded, his lips pursed in a way that still bared his two sharp teeth. "_School. _Hey, Chōji, think we'll skip the first day? You know, just to piss Iruka off?"

_High school flunks, _Sasuke immediately thought. He already knew that Kiba was probably the ringleader, and this Chōji boy went ahead with anything he suggested. And Shikamaru probably just didn't give a crap.

As Chōji struggled to give him an answer, Kiba turned to Sasuke and said: "See you there, alright?"

"You're skipping," Sasuke couldn't help but answer, bluntly. Kiba's eyes widened in delight as Chōji just looked at Sasuke apprehensively. Itachi, too, was surprised that Sasuke was actually talking to Kiba more than he talked to Itachi. _Maybe this won't be so bad after all, Sasuke? _

"Oh don't worry about that," Kiba waved a hand flippantly. "I was just kidding. My mum'll skin my ass if I skip the first day,"

And with that, he walked away with Chōji, who threw them an apologetic look behind his wide shoulder.

Sasuke thought about this for a while. He watched as the two boys returned to their table: the huge man that was obviously Chōji's dad patted his son on the shoulder. So would he definitely see them at school tomorrow? He turned to Itachi, who was looking at him pointedly.

"Let's go," he said.

* * *

Deidara took the trash out. As he was tying second knots on the garbage bags, a white cat splotched with black meowed at him and he smiled at it. He reached in his large apron pocket and produced a bottle of milk. He also got a shallow plastic bowl from within it, and poured the milk in. As far as he knew, the cat was a stray, and it would come to him every night. He'd yet to find a name for it.

He scratched the cat behind her ears as she lapped at the milk. "Have a good day today, hmmm?" he said, keeping his voice low, because Sasori was still around and would probably puke at the sight of Deidara being motherly. The Iwa gave the cat one last, longing look before returning inside, turning the air conditioner off as he strode through to the shop-front. There were only a few caramel slices and cupcakes lying around now, and Deidara knew he would have to take them home, because he didn't like dumping them out in front of Sasori.

The redhead came through with a piece of paper, which he handed over to Deidara without a word.

"Stocks are running low," he commented, his voice mellow. He wiped his hands on the front of his white apron. "Order some more tomorrow,"

Deidara nodded as he scanned the list, shoving the thing into his pocket afterwards. Sasori sighed softly and inspected the now dark, silent bakery-café that was all his own. He'd left the shop-front's décor to the designers, and then when he hired Deidara, the Iwa had gone crazy and brought out all the cutesy knick-knacks Sasori personally had none of, but admitted they made the place look better. He picked up the I LOVE YOU mug that Deidara used all the time and turned it over. The only light that came in was from the streetlight outside the café.

"There's a new guy in town," Deidara began. He unrolled his sleeves and looked at Sasori. "He came in today. He ordered that fruit cake,"

Sasori set the mug down. "Oh?" he said uninterestedly, but supposed he should probably listen to keep up to date with the town's gossip.

"Wonder if he just came himself," Deidara continued. "Or with a whole family. Who knows?"

"Is he not too young to have a whole family?"

Deidara turned around to see Sai, who lifted up the counter and walked through. He stood between the redhead and the blonde, his paper-white skin ghostly in the dark.

"You saw him, eh, Sai?"

Sai nodded.

"Well, you never know. Teenage pregnancy and all that, hmm, pretty boy like him could never last that long with his pants on," Deidara gave a laugh and Sasori rolled his eyes. Sai wanted to laugh too, he really did, but he didn't really _get it. _

"Alright," Deidara got up and stretched. "I'm off. After I grab the leftovers. You two should hit the sheets too, hm?"

As bakers, Deidara knew Sasori and Sai really only had to be there in the morning, but somehow the two insisted on staying full-time. Deidara personally would've taken the rest of the day to recuperate for the next morning's 3 am start. He didn't know how they did it, but he _did _have a theory that Sasori never slept.

Sai moved aside so Deidara could move back behind the counter. The blonde opened a Tupperware box he kept handy and put the slices in it. He was replaced the lid carefully and headed out to his car. He put the box in the front seat and started off. He was almost there to his house when he thought of Itachi. And Sakura. He smiled to himself, pulling into his driveway. He got out of the car—leaving it running—and rolled up the garage door. He returned to his vehicle and drove inside.

_Sakura, Sakura. _

He parked the car and closed the garage door, Tupperware box in hand. He opened the door to his house and flicked on all the lights.

_That feisty bitch likes him, does she? _Deidara put the box in the fridge and sat down on his couch, groaning loudly, tiredly. _Well this will be interesting. _He sighed and looked to his left, at the TV. He turned it on until he felt his eyelids droop: he turned it off and walked up the stairs to the bathroom.

_Man, and all these years I've tried to get her to dig me, _Deidara thought of Sakura again. _And she likes the cool, elite types. _He shrugged to himself and began brushing his teeth.


	4. School starts

When Sasuke Uchiha woke up to the sound of his brother cooking breakfast, he was grateful that the school didn't impose uniforms upon its students; otherwise he definitely would have done a hunger strike. He pulled on a grey cardigan and went downstairs, sniffing the air.

Itachi turned around from the stove and dished the scrambled eggs onto two plates. He always cooked generic breakfast stuff for Sasuke, because it was a little known fact outside their family that he was a supremely picky eater. Itachi didn't dare to experiment if Sasuke was around.

"So…," Itachi began, trying to melt the ice. He knew that the iciness Sasuke used around him was completely forced, and wanted Sasuke to know that opening up and not being such an introvert would be healthy every once in a while. Itachi had been working on pressing the right buttons and striking the right chords for ages, but still hadn't gotten it right.

"You looking forward to it?"

Itachi was about to use the word _excited, _but had scrapped it at the last minute because Sasuke was never excited for anything.

Sasuke neatly forked a mouthful of egg into his mouth and then reached over for the salt, chewing slowly. He swallowed, doused the egg with the salt, and then looked up at Itachi with the salt shaker still in his hands.

"…No,"

Something ticked in Itachi, but he ignored it. During his most annoyed moments, he always called Sasuke _an annoying little bitch, _but ever since the move, Itachi made a resolution to be nice and more patient. He decided to blame Sasuke's asshole behavior on raging teenage hormones, even though he knew that probably wasn't true. He recalled the words of something he'd overheard in their old town: "_The Uchihas walk out of the womb as assholes. They grow up assholes and they die as assholes," _

Itachi had to admit it ran in the genes, but it must have skipped out on him, because as far as he knew he didn't come across half as dickheaded as the rest of them.

_I think…_he thought.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Itachi asked, even though he knew the answer already. He just wanted to make sure Sasuke knew he was just trying to help. Completely unsurprisingly, Sasuke glared at him with a look worthy of their father, Fugaku and didn't even bother replying. He just slid of his chair—his plate was clean—and left, picking his bag up in the hallway.

Itachi sighed. It was as if Sasuke was walking negative energy, and once he left, the house felt serene. _He makes our relationship akin to a warzone, _Itachi thought, picking up Sasuke's plate and bringing it over to the sink absentmindedly.

* * *

"Oi! Ow, _fuck, _Naruto, that hurt!"

Kiba jumped away from Naruto, shaking his hand, which Naruto had just bitten: he looked down at the deep teeth marks and growled at the Uzumaki, who just laughed.

"Serves you right for trying to shut me up with your _hand_,"

"Just—,"

"Stop it, both of you" Shino said quietly, and Kiba could do nothing but laser-beam Naruto with his intense glare. Shino was one of the only people their age that Kiba respected most, and so he listened. Considering it was the first day, that is. Any other day, and Kiba would have been at Naruto's throat before Shino noticed a thing.

"Jesus," Kiba muttered under his breath. They walked in through the school gate when he saw Sasuke out of the corner of his eye. He glanced back at Shino and Naruto, who hadn't really noticed that he'd stopped walking, and then jogged up to Sasuke.

Sasuke's face and eyes were blank when he registered Kiba. _One look at him, and you know he's…_Sasuke stopped. _I'll be nice. Just this once. _

"Heeeey, you," Kiba punched Sasuke's shoulder lightly and grinned, hitching his backpack further up his shoulder. "What's up? Get a good night's sleep?"

In actual fact, Sasuke hadn't really slept at all, but Kiba didn't need to know that. So he just nodded slightly and kept walking. Kiba shrugged.

"Well you're gonna need it, because today we have _assembly. _Blech!" Kiba went on. He waved to a shy-looking girl with dark blue hair.

"Hey, Hinata, how's it going?"

The girl called Hinata said nothing, just glanced at Sasuke, blushed, and then practically buried her head inside her locker. But Sasuke could tell she wasn't blushing because of them. He looked quickly behind his shoulder and saw a spiky blonde dude dressed in orange drop all his textbooks. The Uchiha wrinkled his nose in distaste and walked on.

"That's Hinata. She's _real_ly shy," Kiba chirped. He stopped at his locker and sighed, twisting the combination lock aimlessly. "I think you need to go to the office, 'kay? Just tell them you're new and that stuff…it's just down this hall. I'll see you around,"

Sasuke nodded again, wondering if this Kiba person was going to talk to him every day like this. It wasn't annoying, but it was incessant. If only he toned it down a notch, Sasuke knew they would get along fine. He offered a quick, small smile and then walked down the corridor to wear Kiba pointed. He arrived outside a giant oak door with the word _reception _on a plaque. He tried the handle and walked inside, feeling a welcome rush of air conditioning.

The first thing he noticed was a pale blue-haired boy sitting next to the reception desk, looking a bit grumpy, a bit disheveled. He looked to be slightly damp, too. Sasuke took a quick glimpse and then turned away in disinterest.

_Troublemaker_, he thought. He went up to the desk and the lady there swiveled in her office chair to face him.

"Hello dear," she said, her voice overwhelmingly motherly. "What can I do for you?"

She also had a slight accent, but Sasuke couldn't place it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the pale blue-haired guy lean forward, obviously trying to eavesdrop.

"I'm new," Sasuke said simply.

Suigetsu Hozuki raised an eyebrow. _New guy, huh? Well, well…this is gonna be fun. _He looked the guy up and down. _He looks more formidable than the others. Maybe for once Juugo and I have a challenge. _

The younger Uchiha accepted the timetable and map print out from the lady and then turned to look at the boy. He saw _Hozuki _scribbled in permanent marker on one of the guy's bag straps. He gave the guy a look, and then turned to walk away. Suigetsu's eyes were trained on his back—he saw the red and white symbol on the guy's shirt, but couldn't identify which clan it was from—and he was about to make a parting comment when a loud, angry voice barked his name.

"Suigetsu Hozuki! Get the _hell _in here and tell me what on _Earth _you did to the men's toilet!"

Suigetsu sighed and stretched his legs, cracking his toes.

"Alright, alright!"

* * *

Deidara wanted to curl up on the tables and sleep, but he had to sweep and wipe, because he'd gotten lazy the past week and the place looked messier than usual. He uncorked a large jar and rinsed it out absentmindedly. He'd actually gotten very little sleep, and kept thinking about the guy that had come yesterday. Deidara wasn't _gay, _but Sakura's apparent new love interest had an intriguing look.

_Speaking of Sakura…_Deidara turned the tap off and put the jar upside down to drip-dry. He'd thought about her a lot, and most of it had made him blush. He'd never really thought about her at length before, and it surprised him how much he could say and remember about her when he actually put his mind to it, and all because Deidara had seen her completely infatuated with another guy. Deidara was never one to like to share attention.

_Man…_

The bell rang again. The door opened. Sunlight and traffic noise streamed in for that split moment.

"Good mor—,"

Deidara turned around and saw the guy from yesterday.

"Hey, it's you," he said, his voice light all of a sudden. Now _this _was interesting.

Itachi looked around and smiled wanly.

"Hey,"

It was the only place he knew of in town—besides the Akimichi restaurant he and Sasuke went to the night before for dinner—which suited his tastes. He went over to an armchair and sat down in it, glancing at the photographs beneath the glass on the table. Deidara walked over.

"You want anything?"

Itachi looked at the guy. On first impression, he was like a splash of warm water after the cold one that was thrown on him by Sasuke. Itachi knew that this guy wouldn't bother him at the wrong times, and would ask him stuff at the right times. He thought about whether or not he wanted anything: he'd, after all, already had breakfast. And plain coffee.

"I'll have something later," he answered finally. Deidara nodded and sighed a little. He had lines under his eyes.

"So how are you liking this place?" Deidara asked, his voice a stark contrast to what showed on his features. The blonde rubbed his eyes furiously, while somehow still maintaining a smile. Itachi shrugged.

"It's alright," he considered telling Deidara about his difficult little brother. Did he had a sibling or something? And was it even an appropriate topic with a guy he barely even knew? Who was actually on the job at the moment?

Deidara nodded again. "You'll get used to it, yeah. But it gets pretty boring,"

And with that, he walked away and continued cleaning. Itachi produced a thick book from an inside pocket and began reading, taking out his plain black bookmark and placing it on the table.

* * *

Sakura Haruno's heart thumped. She was looking out the window onto the grassy quad, thinking about the guy she saw yesterday. He was obviously older, but Sakura wasn't about to complain. The only downside was that she wouldn't see him in schoo—

"Class,"

Sakura sighed and looked at the teacher, whose hands were clasped together, ready to clap to maintain the attention of her geometry class.

"I have an announcement to make—oh, Shikamaru, don't fall asleep _already," _

Sakura rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder, where the Nara had slumped onto the table and was looking at the teacher through droopy eyes.

"We have a new student," she continued. "I would like you to all make him feel very welcome…Sasuke Uchiha,"

Sakura's ears perked up at the word _him, _even though she was still thinking about Itachi.

Her heart, however, stopped when she saw _him. _

Sasuke looked around the class coolly. They all looked back at him with nothing on their faces: he only recognized Shikamaru, who wasn't even looking at him anymore. Sasuke sniffed and walked to a seat at the back of the room. Some eyes followed him, but others were just inspecting the empty whiteboard with utter boredom.

Sakura turned back to face the front, stunned. He looked amazingly like the guy at the bakery, and Sakura _had _heard that there were _two _newcomers. She bit her lip. _Sasuke _must _be__ his little brother!_ _When and how are two brothers so hot and I didn't hear about them? _But as alluring as Sasuke was, Sakura had firmly decided she liked older men, and had stuck to that faithfully. She glanced at Sasuke again because she couldn't help herself, and almost swooned when she saw him flick some hair back from his face.

_Oh, dammit! Just dammit!_

She opened up her spiral notebook as the teacher began writing on the whiteboard. _Maybe if I just befriended him…  
_

"Suigetsu?"

Suigetsu Hozuki held up a hand cockily at the teacher. "Morning, miss,"

He shot looks around the whole room, his grin unbearably pompous. At the back of the class, Sasuke ignored his late entrance, and so did Sakura. She hated the guy. _He's just like Deidara, _she thought distastefully. _Completely full of themselves. _She began making light sketches on the corner of her notebook, trying to embody her crush's dreamy eyes in the pencil marks.

Suigetsu plunked his ass down on the seat next to Sasuke and took out his book, clicking his tongue loudly.

_Sasuke Uchiha, huh? _Suigetsu thought, glancing at him sideways. _So that's what you are. An Uchiha. Hmph…_he put his ballpoint pen cap between his teeth and scrawled the heading across the top of his page. _I'm gonna have a lot of fun with you._


	5. Suigetsu Hozuki

When the bell rung for the next period, Sakura immediately slung her bag over her shoulder and focused on Sasuke. He packed up his things with aching slowness, and it made Sakura shake with impatience. She walked outside and decided to wait for him while pretending to shuffle through her locker. She had just exited the classroom when she heard Suigetsu speak. It made her freeze on the spot.

"Fresh meat,"

_Oh, Jesus. _Sakura thought, rolling her green eyes and hugging her textbooks closer to her chest. _Not this again. _

Suigetsu Hozuki and Juugo were largely considered the town's gangsters: they terrorized, they stole, they mauled, all for no reason. This, of course, made everyone either hate them or be deathly scared of them: most of them were the latter. Sakura herself had crossed the duo's path before, but Suigetsu had let her off for some reason. It pissed her off that they even targeted girls. She clenched her jaw as she remembered what she'd witnessed in the time she'd known Suigetsu: long ago, there had a group of seniors that acted as the obligatory alpha group. And Sakura had heard that they controlled the school's social hierarchy. It made the atmosphere of the facility rather disagreeable…and then Suigetsu had come as a new student halfway through the year. Rumors told that he was a transfer from a school specializing in juvenile correction who was trying to put him back on the straight and narrow without imposing strict rules onto him. The cliques and labels were unbearable, but the damage that Suigetsu brought was decidedly worse: why the school let him stay, Sakura didn't know, but she was hoping that since it was a new year, he would stop. He'd taken Juugo on from the second week in—Juugo had already been a loner in the school, and was never fazed by anyone—and in the fourth week they had established total supremacy. The old alpha group had gone—nobody knew where they went—and Suigetsu and Juugo's name were mentioned only in whispers. And certainly never in the principal's office.

"You know what happens around here to new people?" Suigetsu said. Sakura pressed her ear as close to the doorframe as possible without giving away her presence. A small sweat broke out on her forehead. The second bell rang, and Sakura was grateful she had a free period so she wasn't late to anything.

_Sasuke…_

Sasuke looked at Suigetsu. He thought nothing of him, just a fucker who didn't require much attention. He slid his bag strap onto his shoulder and continued eyeing him wordlessly. Suigetsu sniffed and grinned. His two sets of teeth were sharp. He ran his tongue along the upper set.

"Watch out for me," he hissed. Then he left. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Sakura jumped out of the way and turned her back as Suigetsu emerged from the classroom, whipping out her mobile phone simultaneously so that it might look like she wasn't eavesdropping.

It didn't work.

"Oh, Sakura,"

_Oh, shit—_

She turned around trying not to shake and threw Suigetsu one of her dirtiest looks.  
"What?"

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow and walked closer. Sakura's hand clamped around her mobile tightly.

_Dammit. _

She knew Sasuke was still in the classroom, but would he help her? _He would. He definitely would. Calm down, Sakura. _

"What do you mean 'what'?" Suigetsu answered. "Now that's not the way to address someone like me, don't you think?"

Sakura made a show of rolling her eyes, even though inside there were butterflies in her stomach and she really wanted to walk away. Quickly. Without looking back.

"I'm Suigetsu," the Hozuki leaned in. "You're Sakura. You're…,"

He looked down and didn't try to hide the fact he was checking every inch of her out.

"…kinda hot. But not my type," his eyes glimmered evilly and licked a patch of skin just above his upper lip.

"Ugh," Sakura replied. _Please, who does this guy think he is? _"Yeah, okay, whatever," she'd figured in her time here that the least you said to Suigetsu, the better.

"That was a compliment, you know," Suigetsu straightened up again and glanced down the hall, where a freshman saw him and scurried away. He made a mental note to find the same guy later and harass him. "I don't call many chicks hot,"

Sakura swallowed hard. _Where's Sasuke? _

"Sakura—," Suigetsu shoved his hands down the front of his pants. Sakura's eyes widened.

"_What the f—_,"

Suigetsu was lightning-fast: he clamped his free hand around her mouth in no time and had her pressed against the row of lockers. He glanced from side to side again. He felt around in his pants and then withdrew a small knife. He flipped it over slowly, making the light bounce off its blade. It was double-edged, and slightly serrated.

_Oh my God—_Sakura dropped her textbooks—along with her mobile phone—and grasped Suigetsu's wrist. She fought the urge to bite the flesh of his hand, the one around her mouth, because Suigetsu _didn't _need motivation. Her eyes flew everywhere. _Sasuke? Sasuke! SASU—_

Suigetsu watched Sakura carefully. He brought the blade close to her cheek.

"What do you think about me, Sakura?"

_I can't ANSWER you with your hand around my mouth, you dumbshit!_

"I bet you think I'm a dick," Suigetsu went on. He looked at her sharply, and Sakura knew she was done for. But then Suigetsu's eyes brightened and he let out a hearty laugh. He released her, shoving her against the locker slightly as he did so, and put the knife back where he found it.

_In his pants? _Sakura couldn't help but think. She collapsed to the ground, massaging her throat angrily. She glanced at the Hozuki, who was still laughing maniacally.

_You're a total fucking PSYCHO, _Sakura wanted to answer. But she didn't. No matter how many times she told herself that she _could _stand up to Suigetsu—she was never able to follow through. It was the sheer unpredictability of the guy that made her nervous: she didn't know when he was going to blow, or when he was going to let her off.

"I think you're a weakling,"

Sakura gasped and looked up. Suigetsu stopped laughing. His eyes and features grew serious, and even kind of angry. During her time at school, Sakura had never actually seen Suigetsu _angry: _that was Juugo's thing. Nobody ever angered Suigetsu, after all.

"Ah…Sasuke,"

Sasuke Uchiha looked down at Sakura and bent down. He helped her up by the elbow and picked her book and mobile on the way. He handed them to her without looking at her, his eyes trained on Suigetsu.

"Well, well," Suigetsu chirped, the fury Sakura had seen before suddenly fading. He looked excited now, pumped for a fight. Sakura could see it in his arms and legs, by the way he carried himself. Sasuke noticed it too. "Sasuke, you wanna be Sakura's hero?"

Sasuke ignored this. Sakura's arm burned where Sasuke had touched her, and she knew she was blushing. She took a few steps back. Sasuke looked at her, but said nothing.

_So should I stay, or—_

She shook her heard slightly. _No. I'll stay. In case something happens to Sasuke…_

"Sasuke!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Don't—,"

Both boys turned to look at her. Sasuke bit the inside of his lip. Suigetsu just looked at her like an interfering slab of meat.

"…don't worry, Sakura," Sasuke said eventually. His voice was calm and slow. Sakura felt herself blush some more. He looked so…_manly, _and in control.

"Oh she should worry, " Suigetsu shot back. "She should worry _a lot_," he took out the knife again and brandished it in front of Sasuke, who remained unfazed. "I was gonna wait till lunch, but looks like you're _really _eager to have your ass kicked, right?"

Sasuke didn't nod. He didn't shake his head _no. _

"Alright then…," Suigetsu said slowly. "Let's do this!"

* * *

"What?"

Deidara turned his head and strained to listen to what Sasori was saying. But, of course, the redhead didn't bother repeating it. Deidara sighed loudly and practically flung the mop aside, storming in.

"What is it, danna?"

"Tell Sai to come in after school" Sasori said, a smear of flour on his cheeks. He was holding a tray of green, brown and pink macaroons that hadn't been filled yet. Deidara shrugged.

"Um…okay?" he itched the back of his head. "Do you want me to call him now or…?"

Sasori gave him a pointed look and then walked over to the fridge. Deidara rolled his eyes and walked back out to the counter. He picked up the phone and dialed the number that was written on a yellow post-it stuck next to it.

_Do they even have lunch right now, hmm? _

Sai attended a prestigious private school, and Deidara knew that the rules there were super-strict. He hoped he wasn't getting him in trouble. The Iwa tapped his fingers against the counter top impatiently, his leg jiggling.

After three rings, Sai picked up.

"Hello?"

"Sai, danna told you to come in after you're done," Deidara said quickly, wanting to get back to cleaning so that he could relax sooner. He glanced at Itachi, who had been sitting in the same position and reading for the past hour. He made a note to ask the guy if he wanted anything yet, because he looked seriously _tired. _

"Okay," Sai answered. Deidara could hear clinking and talking in the background.

"Okay, see you,"

Deidara hung up before Sai could say anything, once again wondering why someone as promising as Sai was the apprentice ad the bakery. After all, his training there meant he was going to take over one day. _Maybe he just really loves to bake. _He sighed heavily and bent over to pick up the mop.

"You sure you don't want anything?" he called out. He normally wouldn't talk to customers like that, but he knew Itachi wouldn't mind.

The older Uchiha looked up from his book. He took in the exhaustion on Deidara's face. The truth was he actually wanted something a long time ago, but didn't want to bother the blonde with it. He put down his book.

"If you don't mind,"

Deidara shrugged. "Not really anything else to do…oh, wait up,"

Deidara produced a huge white box garnished with a pink ribbon and headed out the door, grinning widely as he did so. Itachi heard muffled speaking. He could see them through the glass: Deidara handed the cake box over to a blue-haired woman with a flower in her hair. They talked for a while—it was clear they were friends—and then Deidara came back in with a white envelope in his hands.

"That's Konan," he perked up. Itachi watched as she drove away. "It's her boyfriend's birthday tonight or something? I don't know, un. She's the manager of a hotel someplace—that smart bitch," he added, laughing.

Deidara cut open the envelope with the letter opener and took out two bills. He put them in the cash register and propped himself up by leaning forward on the counter.

"Now what can I get you?"


	6. Neji Hyuuga

Sasuke blocked off Suigetsu easily—_you're too rash—_and as soon as Suigetsu swung the blade again, the younger Uchiha had his whole battle etiquette mapped out in his head.

_He would be better off with his bare fists._

Sasuke worked on disarming the guy first: firing weapons were one thing, but knives were another.

Sakura brought her hand up to her mouth and bit her perfectly lacquered nails anxiously. She took five huge steps back and watched the flurry of arms and hair as the two battled in the hallway. Sasuke blocked off Suigetsu's left arm and forced it outwards. The Hozuki grunted at the brute force of Sasuke.

_Shit. _

He knew now it was going to be trouble defeating him.

Sasuke flicked Suigetsu's wrist, and when the Hozuki didn't relent—_you're not that easy—_he kicked out beneath him. Suigetsu jumped just in time, but it distracted him enough for Sasuke—

Sakura couldn't help but jump a little as the knife fell from Suigetsu's hand. The blue-haired boy grimaced in annoyance and his hand moved fast downwards to grab it again, but the Uchiha was quicker. In a flash, the knife was nestled in _his _hands.

"Bad luck," Sasuke grunted, then he allowed himself to go a bit further with the fight. His eyes turned red. Suigetsu's eyes widened.

_That's—!_

_Ready? _Sasuke thought. He withdrew his arms and was about to deliver another flurry of punches when a gust of wind flew at them both. Suigetsu was knocked backwards, skidding across the floor, but Sasuke held his ground as his the wind blew over them. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Sakura hold her textbook over her face.

Sakura opened one eye. _That damn—_

Neji Hyuuga resumed a normal stance. Suigetsu glared at him in hate. Ever since Neji had been voted the school's valedictorian, it seemed like the Hyuuga had all the spare time in the world. Suigetsu sniffed. _He probably doesn't even need to attend classes to top them…asshole._

Sasuke turned to the newcomer, who glanced at him up and down quickly before heading over to Suigetsu.

"The principal is obviously slack with freeing you of weapons completely," he said slowly. He held out a hand, and it took Sasuke a second too long to realize he was demanding the knife. The Uchiha walked over and placed it in his palm, still wondering who he was.

"Next time, I'll do it,"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. He never bothered arguing with Neji Hyuuga because Suigetsu, in the past, had been too slow to hit him. The mere look of his pale face and even paler eyes pissed the crap out of Suigetsu.

"Fuck off, Hyuuga,"

_Hyuuga? _Sasuke thought. He looked into the boy's eyes. _Another kekkei genkai…_

Sakura got her bearings together. She glanced at Neji contritely and she nudged Sasuke's elbow: the brown-haired valedictorian smiled at her.

"Sakura, you take Sasuke away. I will take care of Suigetsu Hozuki,"

Suigetsu grunted in annoyance and turned away to face the row of lockers. Sasuke allowed himself to be pulled away by the arm; still looking at Neji's inactivated Byakugan. As they walked, Sakura felt her heart pound. There was a drumming in her ears, and she was grateful that out of all the authorities in the school, it had been Neji who caught them. He never got the victim in trouble, and he was used to handling Suigetsu. Sakura had had a small crush on him in her freshmen year, until she found out he and Hinata were related. In her defense, it wasn't as obvious as people thought.

"Are you alright?" she exclaimed as soon as they rounded the corner. She let go of Sasuke rather reluctantly and looked at him skeptically.

The Uchiha nodded expressionlessly. "I'm fine,"

He looked at the pink-haired girl in front of him and wondered if he should ask her a bit about Suigetsu and that Hyuuga. He was interested, after all, and oddly it made life here seem kind of exciting. Sasuke licked his lips slowly.

"Who was that?"

_I can't believe I'm talking to his little brother already… _Sakura opened her bag and put her book back in. As she was fiddling with the metal clasp, she asked:

"Which one?"

Sasuke thought about this. "Both of them,"

"Well, the idiot is Suigetsu. He's, like, the school bully. Potential flunk too. Epitome of that stereotype," she paused. "He came from a juvenile correctional facility,"

_That explains it. _

"And the other guy is our valedictorian. He's a total genius, and he's Neji Hyuuga,"

"He possesses the Byakugan?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. You heard of it?"

_How can I not, when I have the Sharingan? _Sasuke thought, but he just nodded. Then, remembering where he was, extracted his timetable out of his pocket.

"OH! Crap, I forgot we still have class—," Sakura took the piece of paper from Sasuke's hands. "—well _I _don't have class, I have a free period, but you…,"

"…you have a free period," she intoned. Her eyes looked thoughtful and she gnawed on her bottom lip. Sure, Sasuke Uchiha was a hottie, but he hadn't made her heart race as wildly as his brother had. She tried to memorize Sasuke's timetable before handing it back to him.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go,"

"Where?"

"The quad. It's where everyone goes,"

Sasuke didn't move. Sakura eyed him carefully. _I'll ask him about his brother later…wait, but how should I do it? Tell him I saw someone that looks like him? Or just ask him general questions? _

"Oh, come on," Sakura hooked her arms through his and waited for him to retaliate. But he didn't. "You can meet everyone!"

Shikamaru pulled fistfuls of grass up. His was on his mobile with his girlfriend, Ino Yamanaka. And she was being particularly difficult.

"You always spend time with Chouji and Kiba! You never spend time with me anymore," she whined. "And _plus, _I heard—," Shikamaru held the phone away from his ear, said "ugh," loudly and then hung up. He flung his mobile onto the grass.

"Hey, Shikamaru!"

He looked up and almost groaned when he saw someone that was almost as talkative as his girlfriend skip up to him with her arms looped around the new guy. Shikamaru waved.

"Hey," he said. Then he sighed and fell back, wanting to sleep the day away. He and Ino had been through so many rough patches lately he was surprised they hadn't broken up—it was because neither of them were ready to be apart. It had taken him ages just to ask her out, and because she went to the all-girl's school on the other side of town, they didn't spend as much time together as they thought they would. Ino's parents were mildly strict, while Shikamaru's were always laidback.

Sakura sat down and pulled her arm away from Sasuke, who sat down next to her.

"Where's Shino?"

Shikamaru shrugged and put his hands behind his head, staring at the clouds.

"Dunno,"

"Alright," Sakura crossed her legs and stretched, enjoying the sunrays on her face.

"So Sasuke," she began. "Where do you come from?"


	7. Sakura's Plan

Deidara arranged the spoon and the napkin neatly on the tray, and then dusted his hands off, looking at his handiwork. _Teapot; check, sugar cubes; check, spoon; check, milk; check, napkin; check…_ he licked his lips and then went around the other side of the counter. He brought it to Itachi, who just glanced at the tray without putting down his book. He'd just wanted tea with a bit of milk, and Deidara had kind of tried to encourage him to eat something—not in that wheedling salesman way, but in the way which might've suggested that the Iwa cared about him. Itachi knew this was absurd and probably untrue, considering they barely knew each other.  
"Thank you,"

"No problem," Deidara said. He was about to turn away, but stopped halfway. "Are you _sure _you don't want something, un?"

Itachi shook his head as he lifted up the lid of the tiny porcelain container of sugar cubes.

"Come on," Deidara took a chair from the table adjacent and sat down across from Itachi. After Konan, Deidara had only served two, three customers, and all of them had gotten takeaway coffees and food. The blonde had explained that rush hour was typically just a bit after lunch time, when all the office people came down on a break. "I'll treat you. Newcomer's discount. How about it?"

Itachi couldn't help but smile a little to himself. He mixed his tea carefully and took a careful sip. It was piping hot, just the way he liked it.

"A discount of one hundred percent?" Itachi asked.

Deidara shrugged. "Yeah, so what?" he folded his arms and grinned. Behind him, Itachi saw a petite redhead emerge from the kitchen, glance witheringly at Deidara, and replace an almost empty tray of muffins.

"Deidara…,"

The blonde leapt up immediately. "Oh. Hey danna,"

"What are you doing?" Sasori held the tray in his hands. There was only one muffin left.

"I'm interacting with a customer," Deidara grinned cheekily, because he knew just how much Sasori hated it. "I think it'll reel in more people if they hear about the warm interrelationships your waiter has with—,"  
"Shut it," Sasori intercepted. He glanced at Itachi with eyes that looked clouded with distant thoughts. "Come back in here and help me,"

Deidara rolled his eyes, and without looking at Itachi, said "I'll be back," and walked off, muttering under his breath about how he wasn't even hired to be a baker.

Sasori put the tray in the sink and motioned for Deidara to wash it. The blonde knew Sasori got kind of lonely, but would die before admitting it. He washed the plate thoroughly, towel-dried it and slid it onto the metal tabletop where Sasori had sifted some wheat flour.

"How was your night, Sasori?"

Sasori was looking through the shelves and eventually emerged with a whisk and a wooden spoon. He ignored Deidara for a while, cracked three eggs into the bowl, and mixed it a little with the wooden spoon. The blonde just watched him.

"It was the same as any other night," the baker answered eventually as he mixed. "I ate, I slept,"

"Did you take a shower?"

Sasori looked at him scornfully. "Yes Deidara," he answered. "I took a shower,"

"Nice,"

Sasori rolled his eyes and opened a bottle of milk. Down the far end of the kitchen, Deidara heard the washing machine churning.

"Get me the sugar,"

"White or brown?"

"White,"

Out of sheer habit, Deidara found the correct shelf without reading the labels and grabbed the giant plastic container of white sugar. He plunked it next to Sasori's mixing bowl.

"What are you making, danna?"

"Muffins,"

"Okay,"

An awkward silence fell over the kitchen. Only the sounds of the Sasori pouring the sugar into the bowl were heard. Deidara heard the sound of a metal spoon clinking against porcelain.

"Deidara…," Sasori began. "Do you not have other things to do in life?"

Deidara was taken aback by the question, surprised that his employer would ask such a personal question. Usually it was a normal line of conversation between a boss and an employee, but Sasori was, well…_Sasori._

"Uh…what do you mean, un?"

"I mean that you've been here since the bakery started. And I've never seen you do anything else,"

Deidara shrugged: it was very literally a full-time job. And to be honest, he'd never wanted anything else. He had friends, he went out on the weekend (on Saturdays the place closed early and on Sundays it was closed), and he thought life was fine. Besides, he'd decorated the exterior of the bakery himself, and had spent so much time in it, it was like his second home. He would be sad to see someone else working, but he didn't want to admit to Sasori it had such enormous sentimental value. The redhead would think he was stupid or something.

"I like it here," Deidara answered simply. Sasori looked at him strangely, then reached beneath the counter and took out a jar of cinnamon. Deidara inched closer to him.

"And I like _you _too, danna,"

He tousled Sasori's hair. The redhead growled in annoyance, simultaneously elbowing Deidara out of the way.

"Brat," he snarled. He was used to Deidara's antics, and suddenly wished that there was a fusion mechanism so he could create a person who was fifty percent Sai, fifty percent Deidara. Sai was too silent **(Author's Note: I was so tempted to type 'Sai was too sai-lent'. Hahaha, get it? God I'm lame. Sorry guys), **and Deidara was just over-exuberant. To Sasori anyway.

Deidara laughed. Outside, the bell let out its melodious song and Deidara patted Sasori on the shoulder before heading out.

"Hey, how can I help you?"

* * *

"So…do you have siblings?"

Sakura had taken out the piece of wide, patterned fabric she used as a headband and was wringing it nervously, waiting for Sasuke's answer with gargantuan anticipation. The Uchiha had so far responded to all her questions, and she hoped this wouldn't be the one where he dropped out. Opposite them, Shikamaru seemed to have fallen asleep. As always.

Sasuke pulled a daisy from the grass and twiddled it between his fingers.

"Yeah," he said. He immediately thought of all his older brother's efforts to make him like the place, and suddenly developed a little feeling of guilt for being such a bitch. He made a tiny vow to be nicer to Itachi. _The school is not so bad. _He glanced at Sakura, who was looking at Shikamaru. _And she isn't as annoying as some girls are…_

"Oh, really?" Sakura turned to look at Sasuke again, trying very hard not to appear too interested in this topic. "What's his name?" she blurted. _Oops _and _shit _flashed through her mind. _I wasn't—_

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"I-I mean…I saw a guy that looked like you yesterday. At this bakery-café place I go to. I just thought—,"

_Oh yeah. _Sasuke had seen the takeaway cup in the bin. He nodded in understanding. "His name is…," he paused a little for no reason, and it made Sakura squirm. "Itachi,"

_Itachi! It's perfect! _Sakura swooned inwardly. She nodded. "Oooohh. How old is he?"

"He's five years older than us,"

_That's a bit old—oh fuck that. _Sakura wrenched up another fistful of grass. Sasuke looked at her _She looks as if she wants to eat it, _he thought, feeling warm in the stomach.

_Itachi…Itachi. _Sakura whipped out her mobile phone and tapped a quick SMS to Hinata, even though she knew the Hyuuga won't read it until recess. Hinata didn't break rules.

_His name is Itachi. _

She shielded her screen from both Sasuke and the sun, sent the message, and pocketed her mobile. She nudged Shikamaru with her shoe, but the Nara didn't budge.

"Come on, you pig," she grunted. "Let's find Shino,"

She was too excited by the knowledge of Sasuke's brother's name—no, _Itachi's _name—that she couldn't sit still.

Shikamaru groaned and craned his head to look at her. "Call him and ask him,"

"I don't have his new number,"

"Use my phone,"

Sakura leaned forward on her knees and grabbed Shikamaru's mobile. She smiled a little at the wallpaper. It was Ino.

"How's Ino?"

Shikamaru shrugged and pursed his lips. "She's alright,"

Sasuke looked across the grassy quad at the buildings, which looked totally serene. He wondered what Neji and Suigetsu were doing.

"Hello? Shino?" Sakura cupped a hand over her other ear, trying to block out the traffic noises. "Where the heck are you?"

She listened for a beat.

"Well come to the quad! We're waiting for you!" and with that, she hung up. She tossed the mobile back to Shikamaru, then stretched her arms and legs out, Itachi's name still floating around her head. She beamed to herself. At the look of the other two simply enjoying themselves, Sasuke had to admit, it was nice. He opened his bag and took out the box Itachi had given him. He opened it and found his favourite food—onigiri. He took it out delicately.

"Oh! Wow, wow," Sakura gushed. "Who made them? They look really professional,"

_Professional? _Sasuke repeated in his head. He offered it to Sakura. "Itachi,"

_Itachi? Oh—_ Sakura took the proffered onigiri and sank her teeth into it enthusiastically. She blushed a little as some of the rice fell from her mouth. _I'm eating Itachi's onigiri, I'm eating—_

Sasuke put another one in his mouth and chewed delicately. _Itachi sure knows…_he trailed off for a moment. _Itachi…sure knows what I like. _

Sakura finished the onigiri and licked her fingers clean. _This is a fabulous day. _As she was about to reach in her bag for tissues, a light bulb clicked in her head.

_I should bring Sasuke to the bakery! _

She slowly looked at the younger Uchiha, who was almost finished his own rice ball. There were four more in the box.

"Sasuke, are you free this afternoon?,"

Sasuke glanced at her and gestured to indicate he would answer her when his mouth wasn't full. He swallowed.

"Yes,"

"Wanna come with Hinata and I to the bakery?"

At the mention of the word _bakery, _Shikamaru's eyes fluttered open. _Ino's favourite food is that bakery's blueberry cheesecake…_this made him moan softly and he closed his eyes again.

"Bakery?" Sasuke repeated. He thought about this for a while. _I suppose it would be nice to get away from the house…_ he nodded. "Okay,"

"Great!" Sakura squealed. She clapped her hands and rubbed them together gleefully. _If Itachi's not there, I'll drill Sasuke about him. If Itachi's there…well, I'll have an excuse to talk to him. _


	8. Jealousy erupts

"Get the fuck off me, Hyuuga,"

Neji let go of Suigetsu's arm and glared at him with his pale eyes. He said nothing, and just watched as the Hozuki rubbed the place where Neji had grasped him furiously.

"You don't fucking have to drag me around all the dang time,"

Neji folded his arms. "Suigetsu…,"

"What the heck do you want?"

"Would you like to do more community service?" Neji leaned back against the wall. He'd brought Suigetsu to an empty classroom because he knew from countless experiences that bringing Suigetsu firsthand to the principal was useless, so he'd resorted to lecturing the boy himself.

Suigetsu said nothing, just picked up a piece of dusty old chalk and flicked it across the room.

"Do you have a problem?" Neji asked.

"Do _you _have a problem?" Suigetsu countered evenly. He glared at the Hyuuga, vowing inwardly that he would train harder to be faster than the guy. _Then I will finally beat the living shit out of you, and you can't make me clean cars or whatever anymore. _

"I do," Neji said calmly despite the fact that Suigetsu was clearly aggravated. "It's you,"

"Whatever,"

"Look—,"

"Shut up,"

Neji raised an eyebrow in disapproval. He walked over to Suigetsu, who looked him up and down suspiciously. He leaned over the Hozuki, who immediately retaliated with a "what the fuck?" and pressed himself against the blackboard.

"You'll listen to me so long as I know your little secret,"

Suigetsu froze and just glared at Neji, who gave him nothing in return—it was one of the things that annoyed Suigetsu most about the Hyuuga; that he always seemed so _calm _and _in control _and _just. _

_Just my ass, _Suigetsu thought. Neji nodded.

"I trust that you will be at A block tomorrow after school. I'll have a job for you,"

* * *

Deidara looked up to see Sai hop off a bus and stride quickly across the road. He came in, glanced expressionlessly at Deidara, who smiled a bit at him.  
"He's _annoyed _today," he whispered dramatically to Sai, who just nodded.

"I see,"

To him, Sasori was _always _annoyed. And he didn't know whether or not believe Deidara anyway, because he'd learnt from the first day that the Iwa loved nothing more than to be playful.

"Was it you who annoyed him?"

Deidara grinned widely and punched Sai lightly on the arm as he handed over an apron. "Don't you know it, Sai,"

The blonde glanced at the clock on the wall opposite. _Three thirty-five. Sakura will be here so—_

The bell rang and Sakura, Hinata and…_wait, who's that? _

Itachi looked up.

_Sasuke? _

His younger brother was unsurprised to see him, on the other hand, and Sakura gripped Hinata's elbow excitedly when she spotted Itachi.

Sasuke walked over to his brother and sat down. Sakura hurried over immediately, but Hinata lagged behind.

"Hi there. You must be Itachi?"

Itachi forced a smile, put down his book. "Hello,"

"I saw you here yesterday," Sakura pulled out a chair smoothly and sat down. "Welcome to the town,"

She struggled to contain her delight, but didn't want to let it show. She turned around.

"Hinata, take a seat!"

Deidara appeared behind her and Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"What?" Deidara rolled his eyes. "I'm grabbing Hinata-chan a seat,"

_Stop calling her Hinata-chan, goddammit._ Sakura rolled her eyes too, because Deidara only called her that on purpose to make her blush.

"_And _to ask you guys what you want. Just doing my _job, _Sakura," Deidara was surprised at how mean he actually sounded, and then slid a chair beneath Hinata as she sat down.

"Thank you, Deidara-kun,"

"No problem," Deidara said impatiently.

Sasuke watched the whole thing with little emotion. He shuffled a little closer to Itachi as Hinata sat, scanning the menu.

"Have the long black, Sasuke," Itachi said. He'd picked up his book again but Sasuke could tell he wasn't reading it. "You'll like it,"

Sasuke shrugged.

Deidara eyed the duo.

_That must be his little brother. How adorable, hmmm…_

"So a long black for…?"

"Sasuke," Sakura turned in her chair and glared at Deidara, who just pouted a little at her. "And I want a caramel slice,"

"No drink?"

"I'll have some of Sasuke's,"

Deidara digested this. He felt something unfurl in his stomach, like a cat slowly rising from its slumber because it had been disturbed by something annoying, and he suddenly got the urge to act ten times more assholic.

"Right. Have fun with that. And Hinata?"

Hinata jumped when she heard her name. "Um…,"

"Ice-cream spider," Deidara finished and walked away, his blonde hair swishing. Sakura grasped her friend's arm. "You've _got _to stop letting him do that, Hinata!"

Hinata shook her head. She loved it when Deidara chose her drinks.

"It's alright, Sakura,"

Deidara tuned them out and got to work, huffily preparing Hinata's ice cream spider.

_That damn Sakura…_

"So…er, Itachi, you like reading?" Sakura felt kind of uncomfortable trying to talk to the guy while he was reading, but this was her biggest chance, and she didn't want to blow it. _Hinata might learn a few things too. _

Itachi nodded and closed the novel.

"Sasuke, what about you?"

The younger Uchiha shrugged dismissively and leaned forward on the table. "Sometimes I read,"

"Hinata reads a lot," Sakura said, just as Deidara set down Hinata's spider down. It looked particularly delectable, and Sakura licked her lips, suddenly wishing she had ordered one of them instead of a caramel slice, but didn't want to ask the blonde waiter. Deidara moved around and packed up Itachi's tray, then left wordlessly.

_Weird, _Sakura thought. She tried to catch a glimpse of the guy's face, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Sasuke, how was your day?" Itachi asked. He crossed his arms delicately and looked at his brother beneath his effeminately long eyelashes.

_He looks so gentle and sweet, _Sakura thought, watching him. Beside him, Hinata ate a spoonful of vanilla ice cream.

"It was good,"

"Well, he had a brief encounter with this guy named Suigetsu?" Sakura tried. She watched Sasuke carefully for a reaction that would tell her the Uchiha minded, but he didn't, and even nodded.

"Suigetsu?" Itachi raised an eyebrow and glanced from Sakura to Sasuke. He knew just how fight-prone his brother was, and judging by the look of him, he hadn't lost.

"Yeah, you might see him around. He's always with this orange haired guy named Juugo. They're trouble,"

"Caramel slice, milady," Deidara announced sarcastically as he set the plate down before Sakura. "And a long black for you," he put the mug in front of Sasuke and dusted off his hands, which looked red and worn.

_I should bring him some moisturizer, _Hinata thought. She took a tentative sip of her ice cream spider and blushed as the soda ran over his tongue. _Or Vaseline. And I will help him rub it on, if…if Deidara-kun lets me. _

"Anything else?"

"N—," Sakura began to respond, wanting the blonde to piss off, but Deidara deftly cut her off.

"Itachi, you especially," he aimed his fire at Itachi and ignored the _what the fuck _and _fuck off _looks coming from Sakura. "I still haven't gotten you anything. You missed lunch,"

"Did I?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna go grab something now that Sai's here—," he jerked his thumb in the direction of the kitchen. "I'll get you something too, yeah? I'll make sure you love it,"

And with that, the blonde just left, yelling "Sai, watch the front too!" in the process. Sakura rolled her eyes.

Sasuke and Itachi noticed this.

"Do you hate him, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, sounding a tad bored, because he desperately wanted something to talk about.

"He's a giant perve," Sakura said simply. "He stares at my legs all the time,"

_No he doesn't…_Hinata thought, but didn't say anything, just stirred her straw through her soda silently.

"I see,"

"You didn't have lunch, Itachi?"

Itachi shook his head. "I wasn't hungry,"

"Oh," Sakura said. "Well…I had one of the onigiri you made Sasuke. They're really good,"

"Thank you,"

Silence consumed the foursome, but it wasn't as awkward as they would have thought. Itachi wondered what Deidara was going to bring him. Sasuke was still mulling over the stupid Suigetsu person, Sakura was admiring Itachi without being too obvious, and Hinata was still blushing over Deidara.

The bell rang.

Ino Yamanaka walked in.

"Hey, Sakura, Hinata, I knew I'd find you guys here,"

Ino walked over without a second glance at Sasuke or Itachi and sat her ass down on a chair after dragging it over.

"I have some _really _bad news. It's about Shikamaru. Ohmygod, he's…where's that waiter? Deidara?"

"He went out," Sakura said flippantly. "But we can get Sai, apparently,"

"Who's Sai? Doesn't matter. SAI!"

Sasuke exchanged a glance with Itachi.

On hearing his name, Sai glided outside and smiled in what he hoped was a welcoming and friendly way.  
"Hello, ma'am, what is it?"

Sakura had only seen Sai a few times before, but she still thought he was as pale as paper.

"Soy latte, half a sugar, no whipped cream, no chocolate wafer," Ino rattled off. Sai got to work immediately.

"So anyway," Ino turned to Sakura. "I'm _so _annoyed. Shikamaru has been going out with Kiba and Chouji and that totally creepy Aburame or whatever dude for the past week, and he doesn't tell me what they do. It's driving me crazy,"

Sakura shrugged, honestly wanting Ino to go away so that she could focus on Itachi. But part of her wanted to listen to her friend's problems too, especially when they were as juicy as this.

"Um, Ino…," Sakura gestured pointedly at Itachi and Sasuke, who averted their gazes immediately.

"Oh, hey. You guys must be the Uchihas. Shikamaru told me," she said. Then she frowned and leaned forward on the table, just like Sasuke was. "Will you guys help me?"

Itachi shrugged a _why not? _shrug and Sasuke said "okay,"

"Shikamaru's my boyfriend," Ino explained. She shoved a five dollar bill at Sai when he came over with her soy latte.

"Thank you, ma—,"

"And you just heard me, right? Spending more time with his friends than his _girlfriend. _And not telling me what's up. What should I do? And what do you think he's doing?"

Sasuke personally thought the girl was very annoying. _I won't tell her what I'm doing either if she bugs me like this. _Sasuke had seen the look on Shikamaru's face—the guy looked exasperated. But Sasuke said nothing.

Itachi frowned a little at his brother's rude silence and decided to answer for them both.

"He is disrespectful…," he began, and at Ino's nod, he continued.

_His voice is so sexy. _Sakura thought dreamily as he talked.

"…I think you should break up,"

_And so honest! I'm in love!_

Ino hesitated as the advice sank in. "Actually…I've been thinking that for a while now," she stirred her latte with a spoon. "But I'll feel so bad—it took him ages to ask me out. Kiba told me so,"

"I totally agree," Sakura gushed. She touched Ino's hand lightly. "I totally agree with Itachi. Don't let a guy step all over you, right Hinata?"

She glanced at Hinata purposefully, and the Hyuuga seemed to shrivel under her gaze.

"Yes," Hinata managed.

At that moment, Deidara strolled back in again with two plastic bags. He handed one over to Itachi, glancing disinterestedly at Ino.

"Fish and chips," he said. "The best there is. Enjoy it while you can, Itachi,"

Itachi opened the slightly greasy cardboard box and the salty smell of chicken salt and fried fish wafted up to meet his nostrils. Slightly ravenous, Sasuke reached over immediately and grabbed a handful of chips.

"So you guys gonna sit here all day and chat?"

"Are you gonna stand there all day and _watch _us chat?" Sakura countered.

_Geez, do I piss you off that much, Sakura? _Beside her, Ino deliberately avoided Deidara's gaze, and when he looked at Hinata, he found she was too.

"Maybe," he said. "May I remind you I work here?"

"Then work,"

Deidara sighed. "You have a problem with me, Sakura," he said matter-of-factly. "I assure you that one time—,"

"Zip it blondie. We'll talk later," Sakura interrupted, not wanting Itachi to know about her embarrassing encounter. _Not. _

Deidara rolled his eyes for the second time and turned away, muttering _bitch _under his breath. But somehow his heart was still pounding wildly, and when he touched a hand to his cheeks, it was flaming hot.

_Piss off _he grunted inwardly to himself. _I don't like her. _

But as he rearranged some things on the shelves and saw Sakura lean in towards Itachi, and smle flirtatiously he knew that he was lying to himself, and that he would also be lying if he said he wasn't jealous.


	9. Shikamaru's Breakdown

"Deidara, who was that girl outside?"

Sai pulled the cake tester needle out from Itachi's sponge cake in the oven and straightened up again, wiping the needle with a cloth and placing it on the table.

"Huh?"

"That girl who ordered while you were gone,"

Deidara carried over the box of syrups and cocked his head at Sai, trying to read his ghost-white face, but as usual there was nothing in it. "Ino. Why?"

Sai shrugged. "She sounds very troubled,"

"You're worried, hm?" Deidara sifted through the box, found the hazelnut syrup, and took it out. He ripped the plastic wrapping away and disposed of it.

"She is also very beautiful,"

Deidara paused in his unscrewing of the lid on the syrup. He slowly raised his head and stared at Sai.

"Er…," for once, he was dumbfounded. Sai never held any interest in anyone, really, as far as Deidara knew. But then again, Sai never showed on his face that he was into baking and helping Sasori, but Deidara could tell he really actually loved it.

Sai didn't seem to realize he'd just paid a hugely suggestive compliment, and instead just went back to work like nothing had happened. Deidara shrugged to himself and returned the cardboard box to the storage room.

"Where's danna anyway?"

"Sasori is out,"

"Where?"

Sai was washing his hands and paused a little before answering.

"Sasori is thinking of extending this bakery to serve other dishes. He is out looking for a chef,"  
"A _chef_?" Deidara repeated in disbelief. He didn't know what exactly this meant, and was annoyed that Sasori wasn't telling him anything—then again, Sasori probably didn't tell Sai either. Sai probably overheard him on the phone or something. Overall, he was only wondering if this meant more work for him. After all, if there was a chef there had to be a dish-washer and a kitchen assistant. _Can Sasori really afford them all? _

Then again, the bakery had been doing very well for the past year.

"Yes. He has gone over to the Akimichi restaurant for recommendations,"

"So we're a restaurant now?"

"Not exactly," Sai set about to prepare a quiche. "We are just extending our café to serve more than just what we bake,"

Deidara nodded. _Come to think of it, danna has been busier lately, un. _

"This means we will get more customers, Sai…," Deidara trailed off, hinting at the fact that it displeased him to have another waiter or waitress around. It made him feel like his position was being threatened. He didn't know why it annoyed him so much, it was just his job, but…

"Don't worry, Deidara," Sai smiled awkwardly and Deidara suppressed a cringe at how wooden the guy looked. "Sasori will not find another person to help you,"

"How do _you _know?"

"He likes you too much, I think, and he respects what you want,"

Deidara smiled a little, because he knew it was kind of true: his danna was nice sometimes, in a subtle way, and he knew more about his two employees than he let on or allowed himself to admit.

"Thanks, Sasori no danna," Deidara whispered under his breath. He walked out of the kitchen humming.

* * *

Sakura fell back on her bed happily, feeling like she was in a dream: seeing Itachi had made her feel light as a balloon, and she hoped the older Uchiha would be there more often.

_He has such perfect eyes…even better than Sasuke's. _

She rolled around onto her stomach. The afternoon had progressed with no further mishaps due to the clash of she and Deidara's personalities—thank _God—_and Sakura had managed to wheedle out of Itachi where they were staying. So at least it wouldn't be too freaky if she showed up with some welcome gifts.

_I hope there's, like, a group assignment this year. _She closed her eyes and sighed, feeling like nothing in the world could faze her.

* * *

Sasori rolled his eyes.

"So I get to decide the menu…eh!"

The man in front of him leaning forward and tapped his pencil against the piece of paper. He had pale hair that was slicked back neatly behind his ears, and he was a little brash, but Sasori knew he was the man he was looking for.

"Been a while since I've been able to work flexibly,"

Sasori knew by _flexibly _the guy meant that it had been a while since he'd been able to _work _in general: nobody had hired the guy for half a year because he had recently been released from prison.

Sasori didn't care. He, too, had a dark past, but he hid it well. This guy had gotten caught for his killings…and Sasori hadn't. Not that Sasori had achieved the same extent of bloodshed, but…

_Besdies…that was a very long time ago. _

"Alright. I'll do it,"

The man ran a hand through his silvery hair and stretched out. He'd been working out when Sasori had come, and he had broad, muscly shoulders.

"I need a fucking job anyway," he grunted. "Need to pay the fucking bills,"

* * *

Shikamaru hid his face in his blanket as Kiba pounded on the door.

"Come ON, NARA! YOU CAN'T STAY IN THERE FOREVER JUST BECAUSE SHE BROKE UP WITH YOU! BE A MAN! HAVE SOME—,"

"_Kiba!_," Chōji hissed.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled. Shikamaru heard an exasperated sigh and knew that it was Shino. "Get out of there! I have something to show you!"

_Nuisances, _Shikamaru thought, his face reddening.

Ino had called him about an hour ago and asked him to come to the bakery. He knew it was bad news right from the get-go, but nevertheless had been completely shattered when Ino told him she wanted to break up.

"It just hasn't been working out, Shikamaru," she'd said gently. "We haven't been seeing each other in ages, and…and I just need that support,"

Shikamaru had grunted his reply and left, knowing he looked totally cold, but also knowing that Ino knew he was breaking down inside.

"THAT'S IT! I'M COMING IN! COME ON AKAMARU!"

And with that, the door flung open and Akamaru barked a greeting. The four boys and a puppy immediately spilled in and crowded around Shikamaru, all talking at once:

"Shikamaru, _man, _don't tell me you're crying…," Kiba uttered in disbelief.

"Aww, Shikamaru! Come on, it's not the end of the world, right?" Naruto laughed weakly, slapping the Nara on the shoulder.

"Shikamaru, are you alright?" Chōji asked nervously, because he knew Shikamaru best and knew the Nara hated nothing more than to be disturbed like this especially when he was in a foul mood.

"Shikamaru," was all Shino said.

He buried his head back into the blanket. Akamaru hopped up onto his pillow and nudged at his hair. Shikamaru turned to face the dog and scratched its ears, suddenly and randomly realizing why Kiba liked him so much, he looked so…trustworthy. And innocent, and naïve to the troubles of the teenage world. Akamaru barked again.

"Come on, dude, tell us what happened," Kiba lowered his voice to the tone he used when Akamaru was ill and Kiba was coaxing him. Naruto openly winced on hearing it.

"Kiba, since when

* * *

did you become so—,"

"Shut it, Uzumaki," Kiba growled, and turned back to Shikamaru. "Tell us. If you want,"

"Don't push him," Chōji warned, but Shikamaru patted the Akimichi's arm reassuringly.

"Tell us at your own pace," Shino said, his voice muffled from behind his shirt. "We're all ears…,"

"…and we have all the time in the world," Naruto finished. He held up a hand for a high-5, but Shino just glared at him.

"It was just a breakup," Shikamaru muttered. He put his nose closer to Akamaru's. The dog whined sympathetically and rubbed its nose against the Nara's softly.

"Why?" Chōji asked. He sat down on the bed and the mattress immediately leaned to one side. He put a hand on Shikamaru's bicep.

"Pfftt. Some stupid girl reason," Shikamaru said, not wanting to reveal that Ino pretty much had lost interest in him just because they never went out on dates anymore and it was _his _fault. It was true: lately Shikamaru had been avoiding them because he just didn't want to, and hadn't realized it would have this effect. It had, after all, only been two missed dates.

Kiba nodded wisely. "Yeah, girls are like that,"

"Yeah, man, don't be so down over it," Naruto reached over and patted Akamaru.

Shikamaru sniffed. Shino handed him tissues.

"Yeah…," the Nara blew his nose. "I guess,"

* * *

**Author's Note: I bet you guys can guess who the new chef is. Haha:P**


	10. Mangetsu Enters the Scene

"Itachi…,"

Itachi stopped halfway up the stairs and turned around to face his brother, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs, a glass of milk in hand. He looked normal as always, but Itachi could tell he had something big to say.

"Yeah?"

Sasuke could feel the coolness of the milk through the glass, but his hands still felt hot and clammy at the same damn time, somehow. He faked a cough.

"…thanks," he finally managed. Itachi smiled a little in complete understanding, even though Sasuke had only said one word. Itachi had seen how his brother looked at the café around Sakura, Hinata and Ino—normally, he was a huge antisocial, but he'd actually _talked. _Itachi nodded at him before continuing up the stairs to brush his teeth before he slept. He didn't know whether or not it was the people here that made Sasuke do it—they were a lot warmer here than the people in their hometown—or if there was just something in the air. Itachi squeezed some toothpaste onto his toothbrush while picking up a discarded towel on the ground with his foot and tossing it in the wicker basket nearby.

_I guess it doesn't matter what it is, _Itachi thought as he brushed. _So long as Sasuke is having a good time. _

Downstairs, Sasuke was rinsing out his cup when his mobile phone rang. He hadn't even given his number out to anybody by Itachi and Sakura, but it was kind of obvious that Sakura wouldn't keep his number a secret. Sure enough, when he went over and looked at the screen, the pink-haired girl's name was in the centre of it.

"Hello?"

"Sasuke! Hey! You picked up!" Sakura sounded breathless.

"Um…well, yeah," Sasuke replied with a note of bewilderment. _Don't people usually pick up their phones when they ring…? _

"Listen, this isn't about me," Sakura gushed. "You heard at the café, right? That Ino broke up with Shikamaru? The guys are trying to cheer him up and I thought you'd want to go to their little …thing. It's tomorrow night,"

Sasuke thought about this for a beat, considering the only person he'd talked to, _really, _was Kiba.

"Who's going?"

"Oh, like…um, wait, let me see,"

Sasuke heard her click a few times on her computer. He could hear her breathing.

"Shikamaru, obviously, but he doesn't know about it yet. Chōji—that's his best friend by the way—Kiba, Shino, Naruto, Lee, Neji…,"

_Lee…I haven't heard about him before. _

"And I guess that's it! But yeah, Kiba and I were just talking, and he said he wanted you to come. Like, the more the merrier, right? And you'll get the chance to catch up with everyone,"

Sasuke thought about this for a while. He heard the toilet flush upstairs. He usually hated these things—it was a party for the rest of them, but a meet and greet for him—but he figured if he was going to live here, he had to do it one day or another, and it was better _now _than _later. _He didn't like putting things off.

"Okay," he said. "I'll come. Where is it?"

"Shikamaru will never go back to that café," Sakura declared, albeit a little confidentially. "Too many memories. And the Akimichi restaurant is usually full-up at night, so…I think they're just going to a ramen place,"

"I see,"

"It's a really good place," Sakura said reassuringly. She sighed. "Except for one thing,"

"What is it?"

"It's owned by Mangetsu Hōzuki,"

_H__ō__zuki…_

Sasuke cleaned his cup out more and then put it upside down on a towel.

_Mangetsu must be his brother. _

"It's a scary place, actually. To me," Sakura said. "But the ramen there is _really, _and I mean, _really _good. So I guess it's kinda worth it,"

"Will Suigetsu be there?"

"Oh, him? Yeah, sometimes. But don't worry, he doesn't do anything around his bro. Mangetsu _looks _worse than him and probably is, but he doesn't do anything, really,"

"Okay…so why do you think it's…scary?"

"Oh…I really hate Mangetsu's eyes. They scare the crap out of me. That's why I always go with Neji," she said hastily.

_Neji…is that guy who stopped our fight. He must be pretty formidable, then._

"What's wrong with his eyes?"

"They just look gross. You remember that serial killer, Kakuzu or something, who was all over the news last year?"  
"Yeah,"

Of course Sasuke remembered him: he'd killed so many people and each one had been wealthy, powerful, and he'd taken their heads. He had had a partner, some guy whose name which wasn't mentioned for some unknown reason, but that guy wasn't given a life sentence and had been discharged earlier this year. If you hadn't heard about Kakuzu, you lived under a rock.

"His eyes are like _his. _Black. But what's worse is Mangetsu's pupils are purple. Eugh, I hate them! It feels like he wants to _kill _you or something,"

Sasuke wondered if Sakura was exaggerating, but even if she wasn't, only a few people intimidated him anyway, so it wasn't like he would be scared. Sakura's words would just prepare him.

"Right,"

"Anyway, my mum's telling me to sleep," Sakura grunted, sounding annoyed. She cupped her hand over the mouthpiece and screamed "YES! I'M GOING TO SLEEP _NOW_!"

Sasuke held his mobile away from his ear.

"Okay, Sasuke, I got to go. Good night! See you at school tomorrow! Oh!" Sakura giggled a bit. "Say good night and sweet dreams to Itachi for me, too! Bye!"

And she hung up before she was overcome with the nervous giggles. She wondered if Sasuke was _really _going to wish Itachi _sweet dreams, from Sakura. _Either way, she would still have the butterflies in her stomach. She buried her face in her pillow and smiled stupidly to herself before remembering her laptop was still on and Kiba was still talking to her.

Kiba_Inu0413: So he's coming?

SakuraH: Yeah. And I'm going to bed. See ya!

Kiba_Inu0413: Fine. See you tomorrow, bitch=)

Sakura rolled her eyes and smiled. It was Kiba's pet name for her, and even though it was an offensive word, between them it was just a playful one. Even though she was close to Naruto, she had to admit that she and Kiba were a teensy bit _closer, _because they always planned the parties and the gatherings together. But that was all they were. Best friends.

Sakura unplugged her laptop from the wall and packed it all up before sliding under her blanket and going to sleep.

* * *

Deidara wanted to kick his radio.

_All it plays are fucking love songs. _

After today, Deidara had grown even more agitated around Sakura, and he didn't know _why. _He turned his radio off and buried his head in his hands. _I'm going crazy, hmmm. I should really focus on the job. _

He wondered who the new chef was; Sasori had returned looking as stony as ever, and when Deidara asked him about the chef, all he said in return was "he's coming in tomorrow,".

_A woman or a man, I wonder, un. _

_

* * *

**The next morning**_

"Thanks, Deidara,"

Sai took the takeaway cup from his blonde co-worker and tucked his other hand in his pocket. It was deathly cold in the morning, and he had a giant brown scarf wrapped around his neck over his dark blue uniform. Deidara himself seemed oblivious to the cold and was wearing what he always did. Sai walked out of the café, taking a tentative sip, when he collided with Ino. Hot chocolate splashed all over his face, trickled down his scarf, soaking into his uniform. Ino squealed and jumped back in retaliation as some of the liquid plashed onto the pavement.

"Ohmygod! I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she bounced forward again, using her own hot pink and black patterned scarf to wipe him. They both knew it was kind of pointless, but Sai felt himself grow a little warm around the cheeks and there was a sort of tingling feeling inside him. He looked at Ino as she wiped.

"Are you alright?" she took him by the shoulders and looked him up and down and laughed nervously when she saw his face, and reached around to her backpack. She got the pack of Kleenex from her bag and patted his face softly. Sai gulped a little.

_She is, indeed, beautifu—_

Ino smiled shyly and handed him the used tissue.

"I am quite alright," Sai finally said. He got the tissue from her and wiped his lips.

Deidara, inside, watched the whole scene with much amusement.

"Thank you," Sai tucked the tissue in his pocket. Ino stood there awkwardly.

"So… you go to Danzo's School for Boys, right?"

SaI nodded. "Yes, I do,"

"I go to the girl's school across the road from you guys,"

Sai nodded again. "I know,"

"Well…um…do you want another drink? Since I made you drop yours, I'll treat you—,"

Sai held up a hand. "It was an accident. It is not your faul—,"

At that moment, the café door opened and Deidara emerged with two hot chocolates. He grinned knowingly and handed them over to Sai.

"For you, Romeo," he winked at Ino and walked back in. Ino didn't know why Sakura found the guy annoying, because she personally thought he was very nice.

"Uh…," Sai held the two hot cups in his hands, his palms growing red. "Here. I guess he made this for you,"

They both stood there in silence. Ino tried to take a sip of the hot chocolate, but it was too, well, hot.

"Um…I'll walk you to school?" she offered. Sai smiled behind his damp scarf.

"Okay,"


	11. Neji Acts Strangely

_**Author's Note: now to add a little crime and mystery into the story…=)**_

"I can't believe Hidan has been released for six months already," Pein put the newspaper down on the table. Konan sat across from him, looking uncomfortable in the office chair. Pein clasped his hands together and leaned forward. "It is a pity that Kakuzu is in prison,"

"We could get him out,"

Pein shook his head slowly. "No…what happens, happens. We will continue our plan through other means,"

"And Hidan?"

Pein sat back.

"We'll contact him when the time is right. But for now, we will focus on rejuvenating our public façade. Kakuzu and Hidan killing off too many of our competitors has damaged it greatly,"

Konan nodded. Indeed, the past year had been a public relations nightmare.

"Return to your post, Konan. And get me Zetsu on the line, please,"

* * *

"Hey, Sasuke,"

Kiba relented and picked up Akamaru, even though he was getting kind of heavy. Sasuke smiled at him a little.

"Sakura told you about the…?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah,"

Kiba grinned. "I'll meet you out here after school, 'kay? We're gonna gather a bit before we meet Shikamaru at the ramen place,"

"Alright,"

"Cool. See you there—hey, hey, _hey, _DUDE! WAIT UP!"

Sasuke watched as Kiba let go of Akamaru again and race up the stairs to Naruto, who glanced behind at Sasuke, waved and grinned, and then continued up the stairs with Kiba. Sasuke looked down at Akamaru, who was sniffing his knee. The dog gave a short bark and scurried in circles around his feet before racing out of the school gates. Sasuke shrugged and walked into the main hall of A block. The place was filled with students, but the only person Sasuke saw was Neji. He was talking calmly to a girl Sasuke didn't know, until he noticed Sasuke. Neji gave a few parting words, waved and then approached the younger Uchiha.

"Hello," he said. "I'm afraid our first meeting was improper. My name is Neji Hyuuga,"

Neji held out his hand. Sasuke shook it firmly. _His appearance is deceiving…_he thought. Neji sure looked soft and angelic on the outside, but his handshake told Sasuke he was a risk-taker, a fantastic handler of unstable situations…and unstable _people._

"Sasuke Uchiha,"

"So I've heard," Neji smiled at someone behind Sasuke, then returned his gaze to the Uchiha. "You are coming to tonight's gathering, aren't you?"

"Yeah,"

"It will be wild," Neji chuckled a bit. His whole face seemed to light up when he did so. It added a bit of colour and sparkle to his otherwise stony expression. "The boys are rather brash,"

Sasuke couldn't agree more; that night at the restaurant, he knew already what kind of group the boys were.

"But I can't say I mind. It makes things a little more exhilarating in this city," and with that Neji, turned around and walked away, merging into the sea of students. Sasuke watched him until he was gone, then turned to head up the west set of stairs when someone cupped their hands over his eyes.

"Sasuke! Guess who!"

Sasuke frowned. "Sakura," _who else? _

"Aw," Sakura laughed and she walked up next to him. "How are you? What's your first class?"

Sasuke didn't need to look at his timetable to know. He sort of had a photographic memory. "English,"

"History," Sakura pouted and they headed up the stairs together. "I hate it. It's always boring,"

Halfway up the stairs, they heard yelps and punches. Sakura blanched and they both followed the string of students leading to the origin of the noises.

Suigetsu was sitting on top of a toilet seat, flicking ash from the end of his cigarette on the ground. In the stall opposite, Juugo was going crazy on the freshman Suigetsu had spied yesterday. Boys stood crowded around the toilet's entrance, not daring to move another inch. Suigetsu laughed and was about to get up to finish the boy himself when the crowd parted to reveal Sasuke Uchiha. Suigetsu twitched and stood up.

"It's you," he said simply. He flicked his cigarette onto the ground and coughed. _I have to get you back for yesterday. _

Sasuke ignored Suigetsu and looked at the orange haired guy, who hadn't even stopped his flurry of punches. The Uchiha turned to Suigetsu again.

"Stop,"

More murmurs erupted from the crowd behind him; _the new kid is facing off with Suigetsu! Oh God, he's gonna die!  
_

"Or you'll what?" Suigetsu laughed. "Get Neji again?"

"No," Sasuke answered evenly, his entire being unwavering. It made Suigetsu shiver a little. "I can take care of you myself,"

"Oh, really?"

The two exchanged charged glances. The atmosphere crackled with their intense gazes. Suigetsu finally relented.

"Juugo, stop,"

The orange-haired guy called Juugo looked up at Suigetsu, who nodded a little in the direction of Sasuke.

_I'm starting to like this little game we have, Uchiha. I shall play along._

"But I—,"

"We've got class, don't we, Juugo? And so does this little freshman here," Suigetsu turned to Sasuke and pointed a finger at him. "I'll do this only once for you, Sasuke. Juugo, let's go,"

The crowd parted again as Suigetsu and Juugo walked through. All at once, the students rushed forward to treat the freshman, who was bleeding so much it was difficult to tell where he was hurt. Sasuke walked out, earning many hopeful, grateful looks. Sakura grabbed him as soon as he was outside again.

"Sasuke! What…what happened?"

"Suigetsu," Sasuke said. He watched the Hozuki's back as he walked.

_He's strange. _He kind of hoped Suigetsu would be at the ramen place tonight. So he could see what he was like around his brother, Mangetsu.

"He's such a dick," Sakura snarled. But then her gaze softened—from fear—and she slipped back into her normal self again. "Come on, Sasuke, let's get to class. Neji'll handle him,"

"Does Neji not have class?"

Sakura shrugged. "He does whatever he wants. I don't know how, but…I don't know. Let's go,"

Sasuke thought that sounded a bit suspicious, but didn't say anything. There, after all, could've been a very good reason for it.

Sasuke walked into English class, and a girl with brown hair tied up into two buns immediately flagged him down.

"Hey, Sasuke! Come here," she patted the desk next to her. Sasuke had her down as one of Sakura's friends, and what she said next confirmed it.

"I'm Tenten. Sakura told me to look after you," she tapped her pencil on the desk and smiled at him.

"So, have you met—,"

"Hi there!"

A boy with thick eyebrows and a shiny bowl cut turned around in his seat. He was sitting in front of Tenten, and his face was pulled into an expression of extreme determination.

_So extreme it looks comical…_Sasuke thought. He eyed the guy up and down, checking him out.

"I believe we have never been introduced! My name is Rock Lee, and I'm—,"

"Oh, Lee," Tenten rolled her eyes. "Not _that _again,"

"Hello," Sasuke said. _So this is Lee…_

"You must be Sasuke! I have heard a lot about you already! I think it was extremely brave of you to—,"

"_Lee_," Tenten hissed, glancing at Sasuke apologetically. "Keep your voice down!"

"I am looking forward to talking to you more tonight!" Lee saluted and turned around in his chair again, just as the teacher walked in and silenced the class.  
"Okay, time to focus," Tenten said. She opened her notebook, and Sasuke did the same, and he listened to the teacher talk about some novel he'd never heard of when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

He looked inconspicuously out of the window; he was on the third floor, and the people he saw from up there were small, but he could still tell who they were.

* * *

Neji walked up to Suigetsu and pushed him aside. The Hyuuga grabbed the collar of Juugo's shirt, and the orange-haired boy whimpered as Neji lifted him high off the ground.

"I pr-promise I will never do it again!" Juugo said. Neji sniffed and tightened his grip around the collar. "Please! That Sasuke—,"

"Save it," Neji hissed in a voice that nobody knew he was capable of. His gaze sharpened and pierced into Juugo's eyes.

"Dude!" Suigetsu took a step forward, only to be flung back by Neji's palm. Suigetsu felt the rage grow in him, but he couldn't attack Neji.

_Not so long as he knows that Mangetsu—_

"He's got D.I.D.*! Leave him alone!" (*DID = Dissociative Identity Disorder. In other words, split-personality disorder)

"A mental disorder is no excuse for his shortcomings," Neji whispered coldly, looking Juugo up and down, watching as tears fell from his eyes. He let the guy go, throwing him to the ground, and Suigetsu immediately ran to his side.

"You're fucked up in the head," Suigetsu declared. Hatred surged through his body and his eyes flashed.

"You're one to talk," Neji grinned at him. Suigetsu lowered his eyes.

_This bastard will pay one day…he will…_

"You're in trouble if you cause this much damage again," Neji turned around and immediately his pale eyes were drawn to the third floor. He caught Sasuke's gaze and nodded at him.

_It does not matter what he saw. So long as he did not hear us. _


	12. A New Chef, and a New Job

"Neji,"

Sasuke jogged a bit up to the guy before he went into class. _So he _does _go to class…_

"Yes, Sasuke?"

Neji didn't even need to ask to know that Sasuke would be commenting about the situation he saw before from the third level of the building. It was all written across the Uchiha's face.

_You don't need to know about what you weren't meant to see…but I suppose you have the right to be curious._

Sasuke gazed steadily at Neji, trying to look at him in a different light to see if it would shed any new ideas about the Hyuuga. The way Sasuke had seen him on the quad handling Juugo and Suigetsu, it was very different to when he and Sakura were around: he seemed more _hostile. _Not that Suigetsu and Juugo didn't deserve that, but…there was just something strange about how it looked.

"What was that all about?"

Neji smirked a bit, but once again it was only very slight against his otherwise blank features.

"I was handling delinquents…again. I hear that you were there when the incident happened?"

"Yes," _I stopped them. _

The air crackled around the Uchiha and the Hyuuga as they stared at each other, both trying to figure each other out.

"I have to go," Neji finally said. And without looking at Sasuke again, he slipped into what looked like a trigonometry class.

There was no mistaking the tension that Sasuke had just felt: Neji Hyuuga was _definitely _not who he seemed.

* * *

Deidara sighed.

"Man, I'm so _fucking _pumped for this, you know that, Deidara?" Hidan cracked his knuckles and licked his lips. "But I'm fucking serious here, help me think of another salad besides Caesar, Greek, pumpkin and—,"

"_You're _the one with the experienced palate, hmmmm," Deidara twirled a strand of his blonde hair around his finger. He and the new chef—Hidan—were seated at one of the café's many tables. Since it was 10 o'clock, and school and work had just begun, there weren't many people. "Think of it yourself,"

"Fuck you," Hidan grunted, but he pencilled in something on the paper. Deidara could read upside down: _prawn and fennel salad. _

When Hidan had rocked up to the café, Deidara had him down as a regular customer. But then he started banging on about cooking, and the waiter knew immediately that he was the person Sasori had hired. To be completely honest, Deidara would never have expected his danna to employ someone as impatient, loud and downright rude as Hidan, but after hearing him talk a little bit about composing a menu, he actually sounded _smart _and _extremely _capable. Deidara, after this, had vowed never to judge a book by its cover again.

"This is harder than I thought," Hidan mumbled, chewing on the end of his pencil. Deidara pushed the plate of biscotti a bit more towards the silvery-haired man, who eyed it, took a few and crammed them all at once into his mouth, chewing open-mouthed.

"I need some more fish dishes in this goddamn menu,"

Deidara nodded, only half-listening, biting on the end of a chocolate Corinthian.

"_Besides _fucking fish and chips. That dish is too overrated,"

"How about oven-baked salmon?"

"I thought you told me to think of it myself, you fucking blonde,"

Deidara shrugged, completely unfazed by Hidan's words. Deidara had met plenty of guys like him, who swore all the time.

"But salmon is a good idea. Oven baked salmon…,"

"But you said—,"  
"Hidan,"

Deidara swivelled around in his chair. Sasori, who had smears of flour all over his face. He took a seat.

"How is it going?"

Deidara offered Sasori the plate of biscuits, but the redhead refused.

"It's going fine," Hidan said. And was it just Deidara's imagination, or did Hidan seemed _calmer _around Sasori? "I'm almost done. You sure you don't want to add more drinks? Because I know some pretty fucking mad recipes for drinks,"

"Don't ask me. Ask Deidara," Sasori took Deidara's cup and took a sip of his babyccino. His lips came away with a little foam and he licked it off. Deidara looked at him strangely, and put his hand protectively around his cup when he got it back. Sasori gave him a withering glance that said _aw, what, you worried about my germs, Deidara?_

"Deidara, add more drinks to the menu," Hidan said.

"As if I don't already have enough to _remember, _un," the Iwa complained. But he relented because it was all getting kind of repetitive and tedious. "But, yeah, okay,"

"Awesome. I'll tell you them later and you can fucking write 'em down yourself," Hidan returned to looking at his menu.

"Steak au poivre with smoked potato mash, green beans, and cherry tomato," he said and he wrote it down. Sasori exchanged a glance with Deidara. And the redhead actually _smiled. _It almost made Deidara think that fairies were real and they went around putting dew drops on the grass in the early morning before people woke up. But it was only a small one. It, nevertheless, scared Deidara.

"Danna, what's our budget anyway?"

Sasori shrugged and wiped a bit of flour off his cheek. "We have a very large store of money. Do not forget I was left a sizeable fortune by my…," Sasori trailed off, but Deidara knew what he was talking about. Everyone would know, and everyone would be smart enough _not _to ask. Even Deidara didn't know what had happened, but he knew it had to have been tragic.

"Okay, one of us each think of one dish that we really fucking like, and that will be the end,"

"Meat, or vegetarian?"

"Whichever one you want, blondie,"

"Alright,"

Silence settled over the three as they thought. Hidan spoke up first.

"Honey barbecued pork spare ribs with a side of chips," he said. Judging by the way he licked his lips, it was his favourite, and he reached over and stuffed another handful of biscuits into his mouth. The bell dangled, someone came in, and Deidara got up.

"Chicken skewers," he said. "With tzatziki,"

And with that, he walked up to the customer—a girl with braids all through her hair—and asked her what she wanted.

"Tzatziki, eh," Hidan scribbled it down. "What about you, Sasori?"

He almost called the guy _danna, _because he always heard Deidara call him that, and cursed himself.

"Mmmmm…," to be honest, it had been a while since Sasori last thought about a menu, and he had to give Hidan credit for thinking of over twenty dishes already. He decided to stick with a vegetarian dish.

"Gnocchi," he said finally.

"Wow, wow," Hidan chuckled. "You and Deidara have surprisingly good ideas of what good food is,"

"The same can be said to you,"

"So gnocchi…with?"

Sasori shrugged. "Roasted pumpkin,"  
"I'm not a big fan of vegetables," Hidan wrote it down and shook the paper with a flourish. "AAANNNNDD we're fucking _done. _Like it, Sasori?"

He handed it over to the redhead just as Deidara came back.

"It's done, yeah?"

"Done and dusted,"

Sasori scanned the menu. He'd entrusted Hidan so much with making it, he knew he didn't really have to read it.

"It's fine," _now we just need to find the stockists. _

"I still have my connections," Hidan stretched his arms high above his head. His joints seemed to crack and his muscles looked like they were going to devour his white t-shirt "I'll contact them later and they'll send the stuff over ASAP,"  
Sasori nodded, exchanging a discreet glance with Hidan. Deidara had yet to be told that Hidan was serial killer Kakuzu's _partner, _and Sasori thought it was better off that the blonde didn't know. Anyway, the redhead knew that Hidan would have his way with his stockists one way or another, and that they may even get a discount for it. Sasori smirked behind his hand. Oh, how he loved cutting corners.

"Today is so slow, hmm," Deidara rested his chin in his cupped hand. His eyes clouded over when he thought of Sakura and Itachi. _That damn Sakura…_he sighed loudly, but Hidan and Sasori didn't look at him. _I just…no….I don't like her, do I? Hmmm…think wisely, Iwa, think carefully. _He looked down at the empty plate scattered with crumbs. _Maybe you're just feeling this way because there is another man who has caught her attention. _

_Yes, that's it. I am just an attention-seeker. That's all it is._

"The kitchen has already been fully equipped," Sasori went on. "We will start as soon as we can. Deidara, advertise it,"

The blonde didn't hear him.

"_Deidara," _Sasori tried again. Hidan reached over and whacked Deidara on the back of the head.

"OW!" Deidara rubbed the spot furiously. "What the fuck was that for?"  
"You were not paying attention," Sasori said coolly. "Now write it on the blackboard and put it out front,"

"Yeah, sure thing, danna," Deidara mumbled, glaring at Hidan, still rubbing his head.

"Write it on the glass in these, too," Sasori reached in his front apron pocket and extracted three different coloured markers: green, pink and blue. Deidara swiped them from his hands, still annoyed at how Hidan had hit him over the head.

_He could have done it in _other _ways, goddammit. _

_

* * *

_  
"Itachi Uchiha, is it?"

Itachi nodded at the shapely woman who stood before him: the same one he'd seen the other day.

What did Deidara say her name was? Itachi honestly could not remember. And he didn't know why she hadn't told him yet.

"This way, please,"

The hallway was furnished with a deep red carpet with gold fringe, ornate, soft lighting and neatly maintained potted plants.

"It has been a while since we had a capable public relations manager," Konan pushed a strand of blue hair behind her ear and re-adjusted the flower above it. "The last one…well let's just say he made things messy,"

"I see,"

Konan stopped outside a huge oak door that took up a whole wall. "This is my office," she said. She unlocked it and walked in.

"My name is Konan. And I am looking forward to working with you,"

_Konan…yes that's it. _

"We are very close to the CEO of Akatsuki…," Konan sat down in her chair and motioned for Itachi to sit across from her. "…but as you may have heard, the Akatsuki company has not been doing very well of late due to the actions of one serial killer, Kakuzu,"

"Yes, I have heard. Did he not kill off many of their business oppositions?" _and it was all over the media about how Kakuzu was hired by Akatsuki? _

"Indeed. He would have killed of _all _of them, if it was not for the fact he was imprisoned,"

"Was he hired by…?"  
"Of course not," Konan answered with extreme calm. _So calm it seems forced, _Itachi thought. "His motives are unknown, but perhaps we can look at it at another angle and think maybe Pein was his next target. The computing business is a competitive playground, and those people were not only _Akatsuki's _enemies: companies like Y.U.T. and Regnair's can also be considered as the masterminds behind Kakuzu's actions,"

Itachi immediately linked _Pein _as _Akatsuki's _CEO and nodded.

"That is a very plausible theory,"

"It is hard logic," Konan said firmly. Then she opened the black folder on her desk.

"Now, about your position…you have all the qualifications, Mr. Uchiha,"

"Please, call me Itachi,"

Konan nodded and thumbed through the rest of the pages. "You'll have a lot of duties, beginning with…,"


	13. Break Up Therapy

"All set, Sasuke? Okay, let's go,"

Kiba shifted his bag to the other shoulder and led Sasuke down the path. Naruto was busy yapping to someone on his mobile behind them about Iruka.

"I hope this works," Kiba said as he they walked: even though it was only three thirty in the afternoon, the town was already starting to get dark. "Shikamaru's not talking more than ever, and it's really buggin' me. Are break-ups really that hard? Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged. Behind them, Naruto hung up on his mobile.

"Never had one, eh?" Kiba sneezed. He hadn't sounded teasing when he said it, like other people might've sounded. "Neither have I. Shikamaru's the only one who's bothered to get himself one. To me, girls are trouble,"

"They're not so bad all the time, Kiba," Naruto squeezed in between them. He looked a bit rueful, and Sasuke wondered if Naruto had somebody in mind.

"Yeah, true. Just got to meet the right one,"

The three walked in silence for a little longer.

"Okay, it's just down here,"

It was a long main road that headed downhill. Off in the far distance, Sasuke could see a packed harbor, filled with large ships and cranes. Cars zoomed past them, motorbikes sputtered and a single fire engine passed them by.

"Right here," Kiba stopped a little before pushing the door open. Sasuke ducked under the curtain and followed, with Naruto behind him.

"Guys,"

Shino was alone. He was sitting down the far end of the ramen shop, and he looked at them through his dark glasses as they came in.

"Hey, Shino," Kiba said, keeping his voice low. The place was dimly lit, and the only other people besides Shino were sitting in an obvious VIP area, on a raised platform. A family of four. Shino was sitting at the counter which circled around the open kitchen area, where Mangetsu was busy. Sasuke eyed the man's back as he passed him: he looked almost exactly like Suigetsu, except bigger in every way. And when he turned around, Sasuke noticed his eyes: Sakura wasn't exaggerating. The guy looked intimidating. Sasuke bet if it wasn't for his ramen, nobody would trust such a guy. Mangetsu's gaze didn't linger on any of them, and Kiba sat on the stool next to Shino. Naruto and Sasuke sat perpendicular to them.

"Chōji's bringing Shikamaru over later," Kiba explained. "Hey, do you guys want water?"

"I'll get you all one," Naruto offered. Even _he _was keeping his voice down. Sasuke wondered why. Sure, Mangetsu was scary, but…

The Uzumaki went over to the far corner of the restaurant, where a filtered water dispenser sat along with a tray of cups. He balanced out four cups and returned to the counter where they all sat.

"What about bushy brows and Neji?" he asked as he passed them out. Sasuke took a sip: the water somehow tasted particularly better here. He looked at the water dispenser, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Lee's always late," Shino commented, while Kiba nodded in agreement. The Inuzuka hiccupped and put down his cup.

"I think Neji might be coming when Chōji and Shikamaru do. He was in Chōji's last class,"

"Oh, that's cool then," Naruto said. He drained the last bit of his water. "So, Sasuke, how are you liking this place?"

"Yeah, man," Kiba slapped him lightly on the arm. "I haven't even asked you much about that,'

Sasuke watched Mangetsu work for a while: the guy's skin had a weird, pale tinge, like if someone had drowned and had been in the water for some time. Or maybe it was just the lighting. Sasuke didn't know.

"It's fine," he said. "Better than my old…place,"

"What _was _your old place, anyway?" Naruto asked curiously. The blonde glanced nervously at Mangetsu, who was ladling stuff out of the huge, bubbling pot of pork bone soup.

"Oh, it was—,"

The door to the restaurant was pushed open and Rock Lee and Neji came through. Kiba immediately gestured them over.

"How many of you are there?"

Mangetsu wiped his hands on a wet cloth and looked at the six boys for an answer. It was Neji who finally spoke up, because the others were either too dumbfounded or too scared. Except for Sasuke, who just couldn't be _bothered. _

"Mangetsu, there will be eight,"

Sasuke eyed the Hyuuga carefully again. And this time, he saw something flicker in Neji's eyes. But when he looked at Mangetsu, he just looked the same. Unfazed.

"Right,"

The Hōzuki turned back to work. Rock Lee sat loudly next to Naruto.

"Greetings, gentlemen!"

Neji, however, went over to get some water before returning. He met Sasuke's gaze as he passed.

"Lee, what did Guy get you to do for P.E.?" Kiba asked. "I haven't had him yet—I'm having his tomorrow. Fifth period, I think,"

"He made us run several laps around the quad! Then he made us all do push-ups! About fifty of them! But I did one hundred in the same amount of time, because one must challenge themselves in order to rise to greater heights of training!"

"Awww, _man, _push-ups!" Naruto whined, returning to his normal, loud self. "I hate them! Iruka makes me do them as punishment for talking,"

"Push-ups are a cinch, Uzumaki," Kiba laughed. "Try doing chin-ups, you lazy bastard,"

"Those are—,"

Chōji nervously poked his head through the crack in the door and walked in when he saw his friends. Shikamaru rolled his eyes when he saw the gathering, including the new guy, Sasuke. He looked annoyed, but everyone—including himself—knew that he really appreciated it.

"Hey, guys," Chōji walked over to them, and he and Shikamaru took a seat. "Let's order first," he added eagerly. "What do you all want? It's my treat,"

"Woohoo! I'll have the chili and miso beef ramen!" Kiba said.

Sasuke peered at the menu scrawled above his head.

"I'll have the house special," Shino pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"Tonkotsu ramen with extra pork is the _best_," Naruto said, practically salivating at the thought.

"Hmmmm….," Sasuke was still reading.

Shikamaru grunted his choice, and Chōji dwelled over the choice between three different ramen, finally settling on all three. Lee opted for a shōyu ramen with chicken and green onions, while Neji told Chōji he wanted the only vegetarian option in the menu. Sasuke waited until the talk died down.

"And I'll have…butter corn ramen,"

"Okay," Chōji said. He looked like he was having trouble remembering everybody's orders, but Mangetsu turned around before the Akimichi said anything.

"Is that all?" he asked. Chōji nodded nervously.

"You…remember that all?" Naruto leaned forward a little, as if trying to get a better look of the older Hōzuki. Mangetsu peered at him with those purple and black eyes.

"I do," he answered shortly, before turning away again to prepare their order.

"_Shit,"_ Kiba whispered to Shino and Sasuke, who were the only ones close enough to hear him. "He scares the living _shit _out of me,"

"Shikamaru, are you feeling well?" Shino asked, nudging Kiba's elbow a little to indicate he'd heard him.

Shikamaru shrugged and twirled a pen between his fingers. To be honest he was kind of over it anyway, but it was still extremely nice of his friends to do this for him.

"I'm alright,"

"Don't let it get to ya," Kiba declared. "You'll find another one. _Better _than Ino,"

Shikamaru wasn't sure about that, but he nodded. Sensing the Nara's discomfort, Chōji changed the subject.

"Neji, what happened to—,"

"Chōji," Neji intercepted and jerked his head in the direction of Mangetsu. "I…handled him,"

"Oh. Is the dude they…er…you know, okay?"

"He is fine now. You know how deft Nurse Shizune is with these…types of things,"

"Poor guy," Naruto said, his voice hushed.

"Vegetarian ramen," Mangetsu set down the steaming hot bowl in front of Neji. The Hyuuga picked up his chopsticks but didn't start to eat.

"What are we doing after this, anyways?" Naruto asked.

"Let's go hang around the shopping mall," Kiba answered. His ramen came and he dug in, unlike Neji, who was still waiting for everybody else to get their food. "Shikamaru, I'll treat you to dessert, okay?"

* * *

Sakura walked up to penthouse A nervously. She had a basket in her arms; it was one she'd prepared to welcome the Uchiha brothers. She'd deliberately picked a night where Sasuke wouldn't be home so she could be with Itachi: she had been so excited about it before, but now that she was actually here, she felt supremely nervous.

_I should really knock to begin with. _

She tentatively brought up her hand. Just as the door opened.

"Oh,"

Itachi had a trash bag in his hand.

"Hey…hey Itachi!"

"Hello Sakura," Itachi put the trash bag down and stepped back on seeing the huge basket. "Come on in,"

_I'm in…I'm in their house…_Sakura calmed her breathing. The house was neat and white, with flecked black granite counter-tops in the kitchen. She took a seat on the flawless white leather couch and pulled her skirt further down her thighs, regretting her choice of clothes. _Wow, it's so perfect and organized in here. _

"Sasuke's out, if you are looking for him," Itachi sat across from her and rubbed his nose softly. A plain but stylish silver clock ticked loudly on the wall across from them. The view from the living room was amazing, and she couldn't help but look at the lights of the nightlife in the city. She swallowed a little, then turned back to face Itachi, who looked as handsome as ever dressed in a plain black V-neck and cargo pants.

"Um…no," she said. "I brought this…," she set the basket down on the low coffee table. "My mum told me it would be polite,"

"Oh. Tell her I said thank you,"

A piece of paper was on the table: Sakura could spy the letterhead. It read, _Akatsuki._

"You...you got a job at Akatsuki?"

Itachi smiled a little. It made Sakura's heart leap. "Not exactly: I'm working in a hotel that has had business dealings with them,"

"You mean Hotel Taka?"

Itachi nodded. "I will be their public relations manager,"  
"Wow," Sakura breathed. "A managerial position on your second day here,"

_He's good looking, smart, he's gonna be rich…not that he isn't already…_Sakura looked down at her knees and blushed. _He's the ultimate. Oh, I can't wait to tell Tenten. And Hinata. _

"I applied for it last year," Itachi explained. "They did not need me until today, that's all,"

"It must be exciting,"

Itachi smiled a little wider. "A lot of paperwork, and a lot of people to meet,"

"Do you like meeting new people, Itachi?"

The older Uchiha thought about this for a moment. "I don't mind it,"

Sakura nodded, wanting Itachi to ask her something a little about _herself. _So she didn't find it so difficult to continue the conversation.

"So how's school?"

_Yes! He asked me! _

"It's the same as always," she laughed nervously. She's showered and blow-dried her hair before she came, to make sure she looked and smelled perfect.

"Oh," Itachi said. He was trying hard to figure out what to say. He hadn't been able to interact that much with other people in the past, especially on friendly home-visits.

"I don't mean to impose, Sakura…,"

_Oh, believe me, you can impose…_Sakura thought, licking her lips.

"…but do you not like Deidara?"

_Oh, brother. _Sakura almost rolled her eyes, but she stopped herself, not wanting to appear bitchy in front of Itachi. But at least it was something she could talk about.

"No, not at all," Sakura forced a smile.

"Why is that?"

"Oh, well," Sakura grew a little hot in the face. "Once, I dropped my drink, and he had to clean it up…and he decided to take the opportunity to check out my legs,"

That sounded like Deidara, but Itachi could tell Sakura, in her mind, had over-analyzed it.

"I see…," Itachi looked at the view. Even though they were twelve floors up, he could still hear louds bleeps of horns. "And what happened between Sasuke and…Suigetsu, was it?"

"Oh, that? Suigetsu just, I don't know…he just tried to start something with me,"

Sakura picked a loose thread off her skirt and flicked it onto the rug. "Like I said, he's a bully. Him and Juugo. And he doesn't stop just 'cause you're a girl,"

Itachi nodded. He'd seen plenty of those types.

"What did he do to you, Sakura?" he asked, slightly worried. Sakura noticed this and her heart did backflips in her chest.

"Nothing! Nothing…he let me off, but Sasuke called him out on it and they just fought a little,"

"A little?"

"This year's valedictorian stopped them. I guess he was passing by,"

_This valedictorian must have been strong…otherwise Sasuke would not stop. _

"Who?"

"Neji Hyuuga. He's really smart. Like you, I guess," Sakura added nervously, smiling. Itachi leaned back into the couch.

_Hyuuga…I've heard that name before. _

_Yes, the noble clan of the Byakugan._

"So…do you know where Sasuke went?" Sakura asked, playing dumb. Itachi shrugged. He had been pleased when his brother called him to tell him he wasn't going to be home, and Itachi hadn't bothered to ask. He knew Sasuke wouldn't do anything stupid.

"I think the boys invited him out, actually," Sakura rubbed her arms. "I heard that they—,"

"Are you cold, Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes widened a little. Sure enough, the air conditioner was on. She eyed Itachi carefully, taking his gorgeousness in and trying to remember it. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. She was wondering what exactly Itachi was going to offer to do if she said yes, she was cold.

"Wait here,"

Without waiting for an answer, Itachi got up and padded up the stairs. When he came back, he had an expensive-looking, fleecy jacket in his hands. He put it around Sakura and then just stood there. Sakura's face burned and her entire body tingled where it was in touch with the fabric, which smelt great. Like Itachi. She blushed deeply.

_He wouldn't give me a jacket unless he thinks I'm going to stay here for ages, right? _

"Do you want a drink or anything?" Itachi asked. He headed a little towards the kitchen. He was still awaiting her response, but in her head, Sakura had already screamed YES, YES, YES, YES!

"Yes, please," she got up bravely and walked over to him, following him into the kitchen. "What are we having?"

_Be a little more flirtatious, Sakura…but not too flirtatious! Keep it cool! Keep it sultry!_

She wrapped the jacket more around her.

_Or I can just relax…I have his jacket, after all._


	14. Gaara's Advice

Suigetsu kicked out at a discarded milk carton. Juugo was crouched with his head between his knees on the curb next to him. The evening wind blew and the setting sun sent purple-orange streaks across the city. Suigetsu clenched his fists a little.

"Do you want to go back, Suigetsu?" Juugo asked nervously. He looked up at the Hōzuki, and was a little shocked at the angry expression on his features.

"Suigetsu?"

"Shut up, Juugo," he said. "I'm thinking,"

"A…about?"

Suigetsu watched as a sleek white car squealed to a stop in front of a traffic light.

"You know who,"

"N-Neji? Suigetsu, we can't—,"  
"I know," Suigetsu snapped, then softened on seeing Juugo's fearful face. "But we can't keep going on like this: one day, he's gonna take things too far and I'm gonna fucking bash him,"

"Suigetsu…,"

"I know my capabilities, Juugo. And I know I can do it,"

* * *

Deidara had had to wait until the café closed down until he could decorate the window properly. Hidan had left much earlier with Sasori to go find supplies, and the two had been like peas in a pod. Deidara uncapped the pink marker and wrote in capitals: NEW MENU. Beneath, he was going to scribble some of the various new dishes they were going to have. He sighed, feeling a bit chilly, and slumped his head against the glass.

"D…Deidara kun?"

Deidara turned his head. Hinata stood there, with something in her hands. He smiled weakly at her.

"Hey, Hinata," he said flatly. He stood back from the window and walked up to her.

"What's this?"

"Oh…um," Hinata awkwardly held out the tub of Vaseline moisturizer she'd brought him: she had her own at home, but she decided it would be better if she gave Deidara one as a gift, not as a borrowed item. "I bought you this. It's…it's for your hands, because I noticed…,"

Clearly struggling with finding the right words, Deidara beamed at her, actually feeling kind of grateful. He took it and held out a palm. It was less red than yesterday, but nevertheless worn.

"Wow," he said. "I never noticed they were this bad, yeah,"

One of the mouths in his hand chomped lazily. Hinata suddenly recalled that the mouths were part of the reason Sakura found Deidara creepy: to Hinata, they just added to the Iwa's attractiveness. In a quirky way.

"Thanks, then, Hinata-chan," and without thinking, Deidara leaned forward and kissed her gently on the forehead. When he drew away, he was a little surprised himself too, considering all the thoughts he'd been having about Sakura lately. It had just felt like the right thing to do: Deidara hoped it wouldn't look like he was leading her on. Hinata blushed deeply.

"I…I have to go before Father realizes I'm gone," she said quickly, turning away. Deidara glanced back at the unfinished window, then back at Hinata. "Wait,"

Hinata turned around slowly.

_Danna won't be back. It'll just be a quick drive._

"I'll drive you," Deidara declared. "I don't want you to get into trouble for doing this for me,"

* * *

"Strawberry, Shikamaru?"

"_No, _he's more of a vanilla person, aren't you, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru shrugged and ignored Kiba and Naruto, who continued to bicker over his favourite flavor. To be honest, he didn't really care. He just wanted something sweet.

"Just get him a banana split," Sasuke piped up. Everyone looked at him. Then Naruto and Kiba readily agreed.

"That has, like, chocolate, vanilla AND strawberry, doesn't it?" Naruto walked forward with Kiba's wallet. "Hey, lady, can I get a banana split?"

"Sure," the woman behind the counter said.

"I think I'll need two of those," Chōji mashed his lips together and grinned. It made Shikamaru smile.

_I'm in good company…_he thought.

Sasuke didn't like sweet things that much, so he opted for a lemon sorbet, just to be polite.

The night had progressed without another hitch, but unfortunately Suigetsu hadn't showed up. Sasuke almost wanted to ask Mangetsu where he was, but decided he would see the younger Hōzuki tomorrow at school anyway, so there was really no point.

"Neji, what do you want?"

"Nothing,"

"You're _boring_," Kiba said, winking and grinning at Sasuke. And for some reason, it made Sasuke feel warm.

* * *

"So, Hinata, how's school?"

Deidara turned left after looking out for oncoming traffic. He glanced at Hinata and turned on the windscreen wipers—it wasn't raining, but for some reason his windscreen had gotten kind of wet.

Hinata gripped the seatbelt strapped over her chest tightly. Deidara had turned the volume of his music down to low, but Hinata could tell he liked electro, dance songs. There was a little air freshener just above his air conditioning vents, and a single fish plush hung from his rearview mirror. Otherwise, his car was clean and perfect and well-maintained.

_He must love his car. _

"It's…it's okay,"

"Sakura not bullying you much, right?" Deidara sneezed into his arm and zoomed past a green traffic light.

"N-no,"

They sat in silence for the last five minutes. Deidara whistled as he pulled up to the curb outside Hinata's house.

"Wow," he said. "Nice house,"

"Thank you, Deidara-kun. For the ride," she quickly undid her seatbelt and got out of the car, still blushing furiously, unable to believe _Deidara _had given her a ride home.

"No problem. Thanks for the …the cream," he picked up the Vaseline and grinned at her, a little bit of pink returning to his cheeks. Hinata nodded, smiling, and closed the door. Deidara watched her scurry inside before driving off again.

He was turning into the suburb which was dominated by penthouse apartments when he saw a flash of pink. He almost stepped down on the brake in shock.

_Sakura…? _

She had a black jacket wrapped around her, and when she stepped out of the glass doors, who else but Itachi emerged from behind her. Deidara furrowed his brow and pulled into the bicycle lane after checking for pedestrians and watched, turning his engine off. The blonde absentmindedly chewed on the ends of his hair, his mind erupting and burbling with a million thoughts as he watched.

"Thanks for the jacket, Itachi," Sakura shivered a little. She was originally pretending that it was cold to keep the jacket, but now that she was outside, it actually _was _chilly. Itachi smiled at her.

"No problem. Just return it to Sasuke tomorrow,"  
"Are you going to work tomorrow?"

Itachi shoved his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants. "I think so. I have a meeting," the Uchiha didn't know what the meeting would entail, but Konan had mentioned it, and said she would give him a call to tell him to come in.

"Well, have fun," Sakura took a deep breath, then she stood on tiptoe and gave Itachi a quick kiss on the cheek. She drew away feeling confident, feeling adrenaline rush through her body. She smiled widely, appearing nonchalant, like she kissed everybody on the cheek. "Okay. Bye!"

She disallowed herself to gaze at Itachi any further and walked down the stairs, clutching the two halves of the open jacket together, striding calmly towards the bus stop.

The car's tires squealed as Deidara pressed too hard on the accelerator. He sped down the slope and braked firmly right next to Sakura. He pressed a button, and the window of the front passenger seat slid down. Sakura sighed in exasperation when she saw who it was.

_I should have recognized his goddamn _car.

"I'll give you a ride," he said, his voice firm. Sakura was a little surprised. She glanced back at Itachi, but he was gone.

"What are you doing here?" she said grumpily, folding her arms indignantly.

"What are _you _doing here?" Deidara countered. "Get in,"

"_No_," Sakura hissed. "What if you, like, take me somewhere and rape me?"

"I won't _rape _you,"

"How would I know?"

Deidara's mouth formed a thin line. His hand touched the Vaseline Hinata had given him.

"Fine," he said finally. It was dark, and there were hardly any people around: the apartment district was always quiet and tranquil, but right now it seemed danger loomed in every shadow. _She really does think _that _low of me…bitch. _Deidara put his car into driving gear again and sped off, changing lanes too abruptly and getting beeped by a red sports car.

_Rape her? _Rape _her? _Deidara ran through a yellow light. _What a nice fucking excuse. _He glanced down at the Vaseline. His eyes clouded over with emotion. _Hinata, you don't deserve to be brought down to her level. Why do I bother even being nice to her every day? It's my job, yeah, but…_he took a right, another right, and then pulled up to the café again. He got all his shit together and got out, slamming the car door closed. The place was just as he left it: pristine, dark, and lonely. He angrily whipped out the blue marker, the folded paper Hidan had scrawled all over, and began writing again.

_I've had enough of this, haven't I? _

Deidara gritted his teeth. _Love sucks like shit. You wanna do yourself a favour, but you can't help but have feelings for a person. You want to be with them, even when they hurt you._

"Deidara,"

_Oh, who the fuck is it now—_

Deidara turned. "Oh. Hey, Gaara,"

Gaara walked up to him and watched him as he worked: he and Deidara used to be rivals in a competitive art institution which they both attended after school, but after tying in the final exhibit, they both became best of friends. Not the type that talked every day on the phone, but the type that understood each other without saying anything.

"New menu, I see,"

"Yeah," Deidara grunted, rubbing out a mistake with his sleeve. "Times change. People wanna move on and all that, hmmm,"

He glanced at Gaara.

"Do you not have tutor?"

Gaara's father was strict. It was one of the reasons why Gaara was such a silent achiever. The guy shrugged coolly.

"No?" Deidara answered for him. His hands were already starting to ache and he stepped back to look at his handiwork: he'd made pretty good progress in such a short amount of time. His writing was neat and large.

"How have you been, Deidara?"

"Oh ,you know…," Deidara laughed and shrugged, becoming nervous because if there was one person who could see through him, it was Gaara. He knew if he didn't tell the truth, Gaara would _make _him, eventually. "…just the usual. The café. Dealing with annoying customers,"

"Sakura?"

Deidara felt his cheeks grow hot and he concentrated on making the _O _perfectly curved before he answered.

"Yeah. Partly,"

Gaara would have raised an eyebrow if he had any. Instead, he just narrowed his eyes a little.

"Deidara, I know you like her,"

Deidara said nothing, just continued writing.

"Has she been…?"

"Yeah," the Iwa admitted grouchily. "Yeah, she's been…yeah... to me. Again," _And it's not like it's gonna stop, with her Itachi around. _

Gaara sighed a little and sat on the step outside the café. "Deidara, maybe it's time you made your feelings clear,"

"You crazy—,"

"No," Gaara intercepted before Deidara could say more. "I meant your feelings on having her giving you this type of shit every afternoon she passes by. She is a customer; she has an obligation to be polite as well, considering you're not doing anything that is provocative,"

Deidara knew Gaara was right, but didn't want to say it out loud, because as much as he hated how Sakura treated him, he, well, _liked _her and didn't want her to feel awkward, bad, guilty…he just wanted her to be happy.

_I sound so corny. _

"You're right, un," he lied.

Gaara said nothing to that. He just watched Deidara as he worked. And for the rest of the time, the two exchanged no words.


	15. Neji's Revelation

"Are you sure we can trust him…Hidan?"

Pein clasped his hands together: he was sitting at one end of the huge, long, black rectangular table that sat square in the middle of the topmost room in the Akatsuki tower. They had a 360 degree view of their surroundings, and the windows were made from tinted glass—they could see _out…_but nobody could see _in. _

Hidan snorted at Pein's cautiousness, taking in the guy's multiple piercings. "Yeah. I'm motherfucking sure. I even ran that bloody background test, asked a few questions,"

"And what were the results?"

"He isn't just a baker. _He _killed the Third Kazekage. Sneaky little fucker he is,"

"Was he hired and paid?"

"That's the word on the street,"

"You can't always trust the word on the street," Zetsu said. He was sitting to the left of Pein.

"But one thing is clear," Konan, who was sitting on Pein's _right_, remarked. "He killed the Third,"

"What about his waiter? Deidara?"

"I dunno, Zetsu," Hidan massaged the back of his neck, moaning a little. "Do we really need more people?"

"A lot more," Pein said. He sat back again in his majestic chair. "Our plan to destroy and bring about a new peace will need much more than five of us,"

"It doesn't have to be his cute blonde waiter," Hidan argued. "I bet there's shitloads of people who would piss themselves if they heard about this vacancy,"

"Hidan, we have high and strict standards," Pein said, his tone slightly patronizing. "Not just anybody can join us…especially up here,"

"Fine, fine," Hidan waved a hand dismissively. "I'll found out about Deidara. Dunno what's so fucking great about him, though,"

"Good," Pein turned to face Konan, ignoring Hidan's last statement. "How is the progress with Itachi Uchiha?"  
"I'm assigning him to his first job tomorrow," Konan said. "I believe he fits your criteria perfectly. And he will come to our side over time,"

"Perfect. Zetsu, how is Kakuzu?"

"He's fine," white Zetsu said. Black Zetsu growled.

"It seems everything is going according to plan, then…," Pein said. "Dismissed,"

* * *

"_I'll give you a ride," …hmph, _Sakura put Itachi's jacket neatly on her bed and looked at it. _Stupid Deidara. _She sighed, trying not to let it faze her too much, since it had been such a flawless evening otherwise. Her mum screeched at her from downstairs.

"I'm _coming_! Jesus!" she quickly undid her hair, which was in a ponytail, and headed down the hall. Her lips still tingled and burned from the kiss she'd given Itachi, and even as her mother yelled at her for being out too late, she couldn't help but smile.

_I wonder what Itachi thinks of my kiss._

_

* * *

_  
It turned out that Neji lived the closest to Sasuke, and the two of them headed towards home as the rest of them eventually peeled off down their own routes one by one. Kiba and Naruto were still a little sugar-high from all the ice cream they'd wolfed down as a competition—additionally, Lee never needed sugar to be hyperactive—and Chōji had gone home early citing indigestion. Nevertheless, they'd managed to make Shikamaru smile a few times with their antics.

Now that it was just the Hyuuga and the Uchiha, all was silent and tense.

_If you were _just _the school's valedictorian, I wouldn't be tense around you…who are you, Neji Hyuuga?_

"What does your elder brother do, Sasuke?"

It was nine pm, and it was cold. A steady, chilly breeze blew, and down here the traffic density had trickled to almost none. Sasuke had only been here a few days, but he already knew that past seven, not many people came or went. It was meant to be peaceful—it had been described like that in the real estate catalogue Sasuke had spied in Itachi's study back in their hometown—but to Sasuke it just seemed like the area had more hushed secrets and illegal dealings.

"He's going to work at Hotel Taka,"

Sasuke stopped at a pedestrian crossing, even though there were no cars. If he was by himself, he definitely would have crossed, but he wanted to get to know Neji more.

"Oh? As?"

Sasuke shrugged. The little green man signifying that they could walk lit up. The two stepped onto the bitumen.

"I don't know,"

"Hotel Taka has been knee-deep in news reporters ever since Akatsuki was spotlighted to be a corrupt organization," Neji said, glancing sideways at Sasuke. "Nevertheless, it would be an interesting and respectful first job here,"

"Why is that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Hotel Taka and the Akatsuki," Sasuke said, instantly much more interested in this topic rather than Neji himself "Are they really that close…?"

Neji nodded. "Indeed. The manageress of Hotel Taka is in extremely close ties with the Akatsuki CEO. They have been in a formidable partnership for about ten years, as far as the media is concerned. There is also a rumor that they were childhood friends, but not that we're interested in that…and then again, rumors say they're lovers, so it's hard to know what is fact and what is fiction,"

Sasuke nodded, coming to the full realization of why Neji was the school's academic best—the way he spoke, he sounded like a fifty-something year old person who wrote literate articles.

"I hope your brother does not become too involved. It would be a lot of work,"

_Itachi can handle it, _Sasuke thought, feeling a sudden burst of brotherly pride. But he just nodded.

"But then again, what is a job without its challenges?" Neji went on. He seemed particularly talkative about the Akatsuki and Hotel Taka, and Sasuke wondered if there was more to it than pure curiosity. "Not that you don't want to rule with an iron fist, but…,"

The Hyuuga trailed off. There was something fluttering beneath his mask-like face: Sasuke could tell. He was hiding something. But Neji didn't seem like a power-hungry person…or was he really? Sasuke decided to try and dig it out of him.

"How is it being the school valedictorian?"

"I am responsible for many leadership duties. It is tiring,"

"Including handling Suigetsu?"

Neji smirked a little. It was an odd expression on his face. "Yes. I understand why you asked that question: you are wondering why _I _am dealing with them and not the teachers?"

Sasuke nodded. That wasn't really why he'd asked, considering he didn't know anything, but he was happy that Neji was starting to open up.

"Well, Suigetsu and Juugo are a special case," Neji continued. He stopped outside a white house and Sasuke knew it was his. "You may have heard the rumor that Suigetsu was transferred here from a correctional facility: unlike the many stories that surround Akatsuki, this rumor is actually fact,"

_Why do they let him stay here if he mauls people every week? _Sasuke raised an eyebrow involuntarily.

"It is hard work having him in the school—indeed, we've made many…sacrifices,"

_Sacrifices? _

"But the principal, and the school's heir, had made a publicly known pact with the correctional facility,"

"What's it called?"

"Where Suigetsu had come from?"  
"Yes,"

"You might know it: Tower Orochimaru,"

Neji paused to let the information sink in. Sasuke had heard of it before—like Kakuzu, it had been plastered all over the news at some point: stories of how they experimented on the kids in there, punishing them in all the wrong ways, and there had even been speculations of cannibalism in the event when someone died in there, and whose bodies were never released. It was unfortunate that most of the delinquents in there had also been orphans, so no close relations could make a big fuss. It was a wonder the facility was still up and running, and suddenly Sasuke had a nasty thought that Suigetsu's teeth were sharper than the normal person's…maybe for a reason. They were, after, all much. Sharper.

_I don't think he eats humans…_Sasuke thought, feeling a little stupid.

"Anyway, the school made an agreement. And it was not like this agreement only had negative backlash—in fact, the good ones made up about eight five percent of the total feedback from parents and trustees. Until the beatings happened, of course, but nevertheless everybody thought it was a noble idea to give one of those…wrongdoers a normal chance at life. A path away from Orochimaru,"

_It's still wrong to beat someone up that badly. _

"What about Juugo?"

"He came from somewhere else," Neji said, sounding flippant. "Anyway…over time, we found it was more effective to punish Suigetsu using a person of his own age. That is, myself. I suppose all his time at Tower Orochimaru made him wary of adults. But anyway, I have to take my leave. Good night, Sasuke, see you tomorrow,"

Sasuke didn't watch him open the door. He walked on, running Neji's words over in his head; _Suigetsu…came from Tower Orochimaru? Out of all places? _

The younger Uchiha could see the penthouse apartment he and Itachi shared in the near distance.

_I wonder…what happened to him in there. _

And what had Neji said before?

_The school's heir…who is the school's 'heir'? _Sasuke assumed it was the founder of the school's descendant. _Yes…that is probably it. _

_

* * *

_  
Deidara peeled back the lid and scooped some Vaseline out, rubbing it between his palms. He was desperately tired, but had vowed for Hinata's sake to make the commitment of using the moisturizer every day. His mind was still alight with thoughts of Sakura and Itachi—he seriously wondered what exactly she'd been doing there. He would have thought she had, well, _slept _with the guy, which was kind of sleazy since he was a good five or six years older, but he knew Itachi wasn't the type. _But then again, I'll never know….hm? _he closed the Vaseline again and huffed, falling back onto his bed and sliding under his blanket. _If they had slept together…_Deidara suddenly thought of Itachi and Sakura naked. On the bed. Or on the floor. Doing it. And it made the blonde cringe. _…well, fuck that. _He was still livid at Sakura anyway. He closed his eyes and allowed sleep to take him over.

* * *

"Suigetsu?"

Mangetsu wiped the last red bowl and peered up to the stairs to the modest Japanese-style flat he and Suigetsu lived in. He'd heard a clatter up there.

"Suigetsu…,"

The older Hōzuki headed upstairs. He and his brother were prone to tantrums, but Mangetsu had taken to wanting to control them every time they came about. He knew Suigetsu's time at Orochimaru's had been extremely humiliating, and as his older brother, he couldn't just stand by and watch Suigetsu brood over it.

Suigetsu whipped around to see his brother and snorted. "Go away,"

"What's the matter?"

"Like you give a shit," Suigetsu scribbled something in his notebook and then ripped the page out, scrunching it up and throwing it against the wall. A dozen other balls of paper were lying around, and Mangetsu immediately knew that Suigetsu was merely trying to contain his anger. When his younger brother was _really _angry, he didn't want to bash the crap out of things. If he _was _bashing things, it only meant he was moderately angry. It was strange, but that was Suigetsu. In any case, when Suigetsu was at the peak of his anger, he wrote things down. Drew things. Mangetsu had never seen any of them because Suigetsu would die before letting him, but the elder Hōzuki could tell they would be pretty intense, made with bold 2B pencil strokes.

"Okay,"

Mangetsu withdrew, taking slow breaths, calming himself, willing himself not to argue with Suigetsu. He went back downstairs to continue cleaning.

Suigetsu scribbled furiously.

_NejiHyuuga NejiHyuuga_

_NejiHyuuga_ _NejiHyuuga_

_NejiHyuuga_

_NejiHyuuga_

_Akatsuki. Akatsuki. _

_Akatsuki. Akatsuki. _

_Akatsuki. _

_NejiHyuugaAkatsuki_


	16. Suspicions and Troubles Brew

Itachi stirred a little in his sleep, and after hearing the little clanks of a pot against the stove, he was awake. He rubbed his eyes a little: his room was still cloaked in darkness. He'd made sure to purchase the extra-thick type of curtain so that he wouldn't have sunlight piercing his eyes every morning. He rolled over and glanced at his alarm clock: it was only 7 am.

_Time to get up. _

He threw the covers off and pulled on a pair of warm grey track-pants. The sounds of something being cooked tickled his senses and he walked downstairs faster than usual.

Sasuke flipped over the pancake just as Itachi appeared. His brother looked a little flustered, if Sasuke had to say so himself. When Sasuke had come back, Itachi had already gone to sleep—Itachi never stayed up past ten thirty if he had no work commitments. And so, he still hadn't had the chance to ask Sasuke about his night out.

"Breakfast?" Sasuke shoveled the freshly made pancake onto the ready-made stack that sat on a blue plate nearby. Itachi armed himself with the maple syrup.

"How was your night?"

"Hm," Sasuke had woken up feeling refreshed and somehow more talkative. His body and mind was buzzing with the information that Neji had told him yesterday, and he was really looking forward to the new school day. Which explains why he made breakfast. "It was good,"

"Ha," Itachi said softly. He put three pancakes onto his plate. "Look in the fridge, we have strawberries,"

Sasuke took out the punnet and set it on the counter top. Itachi opened it and grabbed a few strawberries, putting them daintily in his mouth.

"What did you do?"

Sasuke sat down across from Itachi, moving aside the mixing bowl and an empty milk carton.

"We went out for ramen," he said, piling five pancakes onto his plate. He didn't know where he was getting the new appetite from, either. "Then dessert. Then we just hung out,"

Itachi nodded as he chewed. "Interesting,"

And it really was interesting, because Sasuke had never really gone out before: if he did, it was usually by himself. There must have been something or someone that really piqued Sasuke's curiosity. Itachi wondered in amusement what it was. Or who it was—it didn't matter. Speaking of a person that would interest Sasuke, Itachi's mind flew back to the night before when Sakura had kissed him on the cheek: he blushed a little. He'd spent ages thinking about it, but in the end had dismissed it as a girl thing. He wondered if Sakura kissed Sasuke like that before, but it would just be downright weird to ask, _hey Sasuke, does Sakura kiss you on the cheek too? _

"So you have work today?"

"Yeah,"

Sasuke nodded. "What are you doing?"

_Was there something in the ramen last night? _Itachi almost smiled. Sasuke was not only _talking…_but talking _a lot _and asking Itachi about himself. It was strange, but Itachi wasn't about to complain.

"Handling the hotel's image," Itachi answered. He took another bite of pancake and swallowed before continuing. "I have to look over the marketing areas too. A little bit tedious,"  
"I heard Hotel Taka is in a bit of a…sticky situation,"

"Not exactly. That time has passed…but I still have many things to do,"  
Sasuke mulled over this for a while. He thought about Akatsuki, and wondered if Itachi would have to deal with them. _Most likely. If he's handling public façade, he'd have to be in on any agreements. _

"Itachi…have you met the Akatsuki yet?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes a bit. Sasuke was interested in the Akatsuki? But then again, who wasn't?

"No. But I suppose I'll have to,"

Sasuke nodded and got up, bringing his empty plate to the sink. He didn't speak again until he left the house.

"Bye," he said; his face might've looked stony to anyone else, but Itachi could see a determined flame in his brother's eyes. He wondered why that was so.

* * *

"Hinata you will _not _believe what happened yesterday,"

Sakura had put on Itachi's jacket again, because it made her feel like she had a boyfriend. She hugged it closer around her.

_Sakura-chan, you will not believe what happened yesterday either…_Hinata's face flushed a red colour as she recalled Deidara's lips just grazing her forehead in a soft kiss: she knew it was nothing _serious, _but it was a sign that she and the Iwa were close enough to do that without any awkwardness, right?

"What happened?" Hinata asked, a lighter, happier note than her usual shy one. But Sakura was too infatuated with her, well, jacket to notice, even though it was highly apparent—even Neji had raised an eyebrow and said "somebody is happy today" when Hinata'd left the house with him.

"I went to Itachi's house!" Sakura swooned. She dragged Hinata under the shade of a nearby tree. "And we just sat and talked—and he gave me his jacket. But that's not even the best part! I _kissed _him, Hinata! On the cheek, but _still,_"

She grabbed Hinata's sleeve excitedly, her green eyes ablaze. Hinata smiled, happy for her friend.

"That's nice, Sakura," she said. She was fiddling around with her fingers because she, too, had experienced a dream kiss. But she'd never have the guts to tell Sakura, because Hinata preferred to keep things to herself.

"Where's Sasuke? I wanna ask him about something—,"

* * *

"Neji,"

Neji turned around from the window. Suigetsu came up to him, looking slightly unhinged.

"What?"

"I just came to tell you that what you know is no longer legit," Suigetsu said, sounding desperate. "It was ages ago, the ANBU—,"

Neji's shoulders shook as he laughed softly. "The ANBU value every bit of information they can get, Suigetsu…especially one as scandalous as the one you provide me with,"

"You can't fucking prove it," the Hōzuki snarled, his sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight.

"The ANBU don't need proof…and besides, I'm Neji Hyuuga. They will trust me,"

Suigetsu said nothing, because he knew what Neji said was utterly true.

"Suigetsu, is it that hard doing what I say?" Neji turned away from him again and peered out the window. Suigetsu wondered what he was looking at, but when he stood on tip toe and followed the Hyuuga's gaze, he found nothing peculiar.

"It is time this school got a bit of justice anyway…," Neji licked his lips.

Sasuke stood just outside the door, processing what he'd just overheard. _Neji must know something about Suigetsu then. _The whole situation was just getting stranger by the second, and as much as Sasuke had despised Suigetsu from the beginning, he was getting an increasingly foreboding feeling Neji was the one he should hate. But he didn't have proof, so it wasn't like he was going to overlook a violent guy like Suigetsu _just _because Sasuke hated the look of Neji's face. _But then again, this is not _that _unusual…if Neji had something on Suigetsu, then that would merely explain why only he can control Suigetsu…and who are the ANBU? _

"And, Suigetsu, you—,"

"SASUKE! Hey! I've been looking all over for you!"

Sasuke flinched and turned around, taking Sakura immediately and pushing her back a few strides from the classroom as quickly as he could. It was a good thing the corridor was deserted; otherwise they'd look like retards. Sasuke's heart pounded and he heard the shuffling of feet behind him.

"Sasuke, what—,"

"Why, Sasuke," Neji cocked his head. "You should have come in and said hello,"

The younger turned to look over his shoulder and glared at the Hyuuga; behind him, Suigetsu leaned against the doorframe awkwardly, only glancing at Sasuke once to acknowledge his presence.  
"I was just passing by," Sasuke said quickly. He gave Sakura a look that said _let's go, I'll tell you later, _and then tugged on her arm and headed back the other way, knowing he looked extremely suspicious. He could feel Neji's eyes burning holes in his back.

"Sasuke!" Sakura hissed.

_Wait a minute—is that Itachi's jacket? _

_Fuck that. _

Sasuke brought them out onto the quad, where most of the students were milling around, waiting for school to start, dreading it.

"That's Itachi's jacket," he said flatly. He wanted to deter her from asking questions about what he was doing before—eavesdropping. Sakura shrugged it off, smiling coyly, and Sasuke knew he'd tapped the right button to distract her.

"Yes it is," she handed it over to him. "My mum made you guys a welcome basket sorta thing—and I went over to your place. It got cold, so Itachi offered me his jacket. Tell him I said thanks,"

"Okay," Sasuke stuffed the thing into his bag and glanced back from where he'd come from. Sakura rubbed her arms. She felt incomplete without the jacket, but at least she still had the memory of the kiss.

_I should talk to Suigetsu later, _Sasuke thought, pushing up his sleeves a little. _I need to shed some light on Neji. _He knew if he asked Kiba or any of the guys he went out with yesterday, they'd just all say he was a smartass. If he asked Sakura, she would say he was brilliant. _And I need to find out about that school heir…_there had been something that Neji had said yesterday that ticked Sasuke off, it had sounded so _wrong. _Suigetsu would offer a different perspective on Neji and the whole situation...if he let Sasuke barrage him with questions. And Sasuke knew that would take a lot of work to get information out of Suigetsu Hōzuki.

_

* * *

_  
"What a shame," Neji turned back to face the Hōzuki. "He had the chance to stumble upon your secret,"

"Shut up," Suigetsu brushed his fringe from his purple eyes, nervous. He kept thinking about Sasuke, and how darn _close _he'd come. Suigetsu shivered. He didn't need more people knowing about it.

"It would not help you in any way, however," Neji picked up his bag from the floor. He was lying—the Hyuuga knew that if Sasuke had overheard, Suigetsu had a chance. A chance…_something he does not need. _"Because why would Sasuke help the likes of _you_?"

The valedictorian left Suigetsu alone in the classroom.

* * *

Deidara wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, supremely grateful for the fact that Hidan took to dishing out orders himself and walking back and forth from the kitchen to the café shop-front. Because the blonde was getting so tired, he wondered if he was sick. He sat back onto the red stool reserved for him only behind the counter as Hidan sailed through again, empty handed, having just served up an order of penne with pear and goat cheese.

"Think fast," Hidan swung his fist jokingly at Deidara, who flinched despite the fact it was just a feint. The chef laughed at him, the noise making Deidara's head pound painfully.

"Far out," Deidara grumbled.

He was still thinking about Sakura and Itachi, and it had made him lose two hours of precious sleep. He undid his blonde ponytail, then tied it back up again. The doorbell tinkled and Deidara suppressed a groan. He got off the stool reluctantly.

"He—,"

"Good morning,"

Itachi was decked out in an expensive-looking black suit, and he looked every bit the young, promising businessman. Deidara would have commented on how good he looked if it wasn't for the fact that the blonde now totally resented him.

"Itachi," he answered, his voice clipped.

"You look tired,"

Itachi glanced behind him. He could see why—the place was full. He'd seen the writing on the window, and he knew better than to ask Deidara about it. The guy looked distressed and frizzled—even his hair seemed to have lost some of its blonde luster and perkiness.

"Yeah. What do you want?"

Itachi adjusted his tie, which was getting uncomfortably tight somehow. Or was it something else? The way Deidara was looking at him perhaps?

"The usual,"

"Sure thing. I'll be quick," Deidara didn't want to look at Itachi any longer than he had to: sure, the Uchiha had obliviously hurt him, he hadn't _known _that Deidara liked Sakura….that would have been impossible, since the Iwa didn't even have his own feelings straight. Nevertheless, looking at Itachi made him feel sick. He prepared the long black as quickly as he could, and even scalded his fingers by touching the takeaway cup too fast, and without a cardboard protector. He slipped one on and then handed it over to Itachi, forcing himself to make small talk, because he didn't want the Uchiha to suspect that something was up.

"First day at work?"

"Yeah," Itachi took a sip. Then, after an exchange of nods, he left.


	17. Shino's Hypothesis

**I'd like to randomly mention to my readers that it's my second day of going to university today! I wonder if any of my Australian readers are from Brisbane =) Because that would be cool! Oh yeah, and one of readers asked why I call Deidara an Iwa~ and in case anybody else is confused, since Kishimoto never gave Deidara an actual surname, I just made his last name Iwa, which is taken from Iwagakure (meaning Rock Village, where Deidara comes from). **

"Sasori, are you free after dinner tonight?" Hidan was sautéing some onions. He looked at Sasori, who was helping him make potpies.

"Why?"

Sasori didn't really need to ask why—he knew exactly what Hidan was planning. Sasori wasn't stupid, and clearly Hidan wasn't either: _he's checked up on me…and asked questions about my past. _The redhead may have looked spacey on the outside, but he was still very much aware of what went on under his nose. And it wasn't exactly an easy job to dig up Sasori's past; he'd made sure of it. So when Hidan had stepped on _those _tripwires, they came back to alert Sasori that someone had been asking…questions.

"Oh, you know. Let's do man things," Hidan slid the onions onto a plate. "Go out. Fuck around. Have a beer,"

Sasori didn't have an affinity for alcohol: he was a disastrous drunk. But he nodded because he wanted to see what Hidan was up to. Sasori had a hypothesis: only he knew, as Hidan's employer, that Hidan had been Kakuzu's partner in crime. Kakuzu was still in jail, and now the guy was asking around about Sasori's criminal history…it wasn't hard to put the two together. _Hmph…does he want me to return to my old ways? _Sasori spread out his pale, long, pianist-fingers. He smiled. _It's not that hard: just say the word and I will be there. _

"I'm getting fucking hot," Hidan stepped away from the stove. Deidara, who had just come in, grunted "stand in the freezer then,"

"What's wrong with _you _today, you moody little fucker?"

Sasori looked at Deidara, who, indeed, looked tired. There were bags under his eyes and he walked with less exuberance; if Sasori had to use an analogy, Deidara looked like a peacock that had all his tail feathers pulled off.

"Nothing," the blonde grumbled and piled some cutlery into the sink full of soapy, hot water. He glanced at Sasori and said nothing, just walked back out.

_What's so good about him? _Hidan thought about what Pein had told him to do. _What are the fucking chances anyway to have two potentially useful Akatsuki members in the one place? _To him, Sasori looked to be the only capable one, but Hidan wasn't about to skip Deidara. Pein would kill him.

"Do _you _know what's wrong, Sasori?"

Sasori looked distracted. He was now wiping the counter top.

"Sasori?"

"I don't know," he finally answered. He rolled up his sleeves again and said no more.

_Wake up, Deidara! _

The Iwa wanted to slap himself. He almost did, if it wasn't for the fact the place was so damn full. _I don't even know if it was just a…a random visit, or…yeah. _

He brushed a fallen eyelash from beneath his eye and blinked a few times. The steady trickle of customers before had dwindled, and he finally had the time to take a good breath in the corner on his red stool. He kept thinking about Itachi and his suit—and how good he looked. Deidara knew he wasn't one to comment on the superficiality of society, but he knew immediately that Sakura probably only preferred the Uchiha because he was, well, hotter. _In her opinion anyways, _Deidara thought, because he wanted to keep his ego in check. _I still have an admirer…_and Deidara was intending to keep it that way. He knew it was wrong of him to string Hinata along on the little game he wanted to play, but he was too motivated to stop. It wasn't like Sakura _knew _about his little crush on her, but Deidara hoped his new attitude towards her would hint at it. _Itachi is rich and hot. The bastard. _

_Over time, she'll realize that I'm the one that knows her best._

Deidara cringed a little at this thought. _Since when did I become so soft, un? And…that bitch doesn't really deserve it…the way she treats me. _

So why did he still think this way about her?

Well, there was only one answer.

* * *

"How was yesterday, anyways?" Sakura tugged on the hem of her skirt. "Was it good?"

Sasuke nodded distractedly. "Yeah,"

"Your penthouse is really sweet, by the way. I loved it,"

The bell rang; everyone picked up their bags, spat out their gum into the bins, crumpled up half-eaten sandwiches and tossed them on the ground. Girls tied up their loose hair into neat ponytails and guys shoved their footballs and MP3s back into their pockets.

"Darn, I have P.E…Sasuke, what about you?"

"Chemistry,"

Sakura pulled a face. "I wouldn't wanna go to either of those,"

Sasuke shrugged. He was still thinking about talking to Suigetsu—there was just _some_thing about the whole situation that ticked Sasuke, making him interesting. There was a furnace inside him and there was something feeding it wood. Sasuke just needed to find out what that something was.

"See you," he peeled off from the main hall with Sakura shrieking "meet me at the tables at lunch!" and headed down stairs, his mind a blur as he thought of all the possible secrets that Neji could blackmail Suigetsu with. He found a bunch of people he didn't recognize standing outside the lab he was meant to be in for Chemistry and leaned against the wall, still thinking.

_It's obviously something Suigetsu is damn well worried about…if it is made public…is he scared it will break his image? _

Sasuke wrinkled his brow slightly. _His image…his reputation…his peers are not oblivious to the fact Neji already can control him. Even if he loses his reputation, it is clear that he will still be able to traumatize everyone else, anyway._

"Sasuke,"

Sasuke looked up. "Shino,"

"He's always late," Shino rubbed his nose and sniffed. "Kakashi, I mean,"

"Okay,"

Sasuke was glad Shino never talked much—he wasn't in the mood to be polite.

"Shino, who is the school's heir?"

"The school's heir?" the other boy repeated. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets. "Yeah,"

"Nobody knows," Shino replied. "It's all kept on the down low…so nobody knows,"

_Damn. _

"Why do you want to know?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I just heard of him…or her, and I wanted to know, that's all,"

"Everybody does," the lab door swung open and Kakashi Hatake poked his head out apologetically. "But if you ask me, I would say it's a Hyuuga,"

Shino adjusted his bag strap and shuffled forward. Sasuke, a little dumbfounded for a second, walked behind him.

"Why?"

"Because," Shino said. "Why else do you think Neji seems to have no classes at all? That he seems to be able to do what he pleases?"

Sasuke thought about this for a while. They both went in and slid onto the tall black stools.

"Is he not the school's valedictorian?"

"So?" Shino took out his thick chemistry textbook. "Just because you're smart doesn't mean you can't get smarter—you're still expected to be _in classes_,"

It was true—and Sasuke wanted to kick himself for not noticing it before. He vaguely recalled asking Sakura about why Neji seemed to be everywhere, and the Haruno hadn't been able to answer him. Sasuke ruled a margin in his spiral notebook.

"But then again, who wouldn't take advantage of being related to the school's heir? I would too," Shino finished, whipping out his ballpoint pen with a flourish. A single fly escaped from his sleeve.

_A Hyuuga…? _

_

* * *

_  
Suigetsu was nervous. He did another push up on the mat, reaching the prescribed amount, and got off. He accidentally bumped shoulders with Sakura, and absentmindedly apologized.

Sakura narrowed her eyes—was it just her imagination, or did Suigetsu just say "sorry"? She didn't let it linger on her mind and got onto the mat he just got off to do sit-ups before Guy barraged her with his trademark cheesy pep talk about youth.

Suigetsu rubbed the spot where he'd bumped Sakura and looked off into the distance—he stared at the basketball hoop, trying to remember when exactly he'd begun his tyranny…when exactly Neji Hyuuga had talked to him. Dealt with him, blackmailed him. He shivered a little, then grit his sharp teeth.

_I'll get him back for trying to control _me..._some day. _

_Some day my ass. _He shook his head vigorously. _I can't...I can't take him on myself...I'm not...I need..._

_No. I CAN take him on. I can solve this shit. _

_No I can't. _

_I can't...I can't. _

_I can't make a big thing out of it. _

_I need somebody to help...Juugo...I can't keep doing this to Juugo. Can't drag him into it. _

_Neji, you have a problem with _me, _you deal with _me, _not Juugo. _

_...fucking hell. _

He left the gym as quietly as he could and slipped into the locker room. He found his locker and opened it, grabbing his water bottle and chugging it down, trying to calm himself before he did something crazy.

_Who am i kidding...nobody would help me. _

Something ticked inside his mind: his last thought had sounded a lot like something Neji'd said earlier. What had he said again?

_..."Because why would Sasuke help the likes of you?"..._

Suigetsu stopped drinking. His eyes glazed over. _Sasuke...? _

After that encounter, Suigetsu hadn't really thought about it; he'd been far too distracted by Neji. But now that he thought back, hadn't Sasuke been...eavesdropping? The Uchiha was a purposeful person...he wouldn't waste time. He wasn't doing it for fun. He _had _to have been...

_Sasuke, do you suspect Neji?_


	18. Suigetsu Confesses

Suigetsu pulled his leather gloves on nervously and revved up his motorbike a little. He was just outside the school's main gate. He reached behind himself and pulled on his red helmet, securing the straps beneath his chin.

_Why am I even doing this? _ Half of him wanted to drive off, but half of him knew that he _had _to stay and wait for Sasuke. And get him to come with him somewhere private so he could properly ask him questions. And tell him…

It was a crazy idea, Suigetsu knew, to trust a newcomer who hung out within Neji's primary social group with a secret as big as his, but something deep inside him—some sort of instinct—told him that he wouldn't regret it. As soon as he spotted Sasuke turn left out of the gate, Suigetsu drove onto the pavement, cutting Sasuke's path off and ignoring the squeals and annoyed yells of his peers as they stepped out of the way. Sasuke looked at him expressionlessly at first, glancing at Suigetsu and his motorcycle.

"Yes?" the Uchiha said.

"Come with me,"

Sasuke looked behind him and saw Tenten whisper something behind her hand to a girl Sasuke didn't recognize. Besides her, he didn't know anyone else.

"Why?"

"I…," Suigetsu tossed a black helmet to Sasuke. "I'm gonna dish you some dirt,"

Sasuke caught the helmet. He saw his own reflection in it. It was a good thing he'd been planning to ask Suigetsu a few questions too, otherwise he would never have gone with the guy anywhere. _Okay…I'll trust you. I will see where this goes. _Sasuke pulled the helmet over his head and climbed with ease onto the back of Suigetsu's motorbike. The Hōzuki made sure Sasuke had settled in properly before driving off, merging into the steady stream of afterschool traffic.

Suigetsu's palms had grown sweaty, and it wasn't because he was wearing gloves and all the heat from the combined vehicles around him was positively suffocating: he'd never dreamed that he would actually enlist someone else's help. He'd always thought it impossible, and had spent years brooding over the abyss his life had become—he'd even disconnected and distanced himself from Mangetsu because he knew that if he was still best buddies with his brother, he would have spilled the beans about Neji knowing _everything, _and then—

Mangetsu was a practical guy. He would've taken matters into his own hands, and that would have definitely made things _worse. _The less people that knew about this, the better. The traffic light turned green, and Suigetsu wove around a particularly slow-starting car. He'd spent so many nights with knots in his stomach it was hard to believe he was going to attempt to undo them—or at least lessen their severity—with a dude he barely knew. With a dude he started a fight with on the first day.

_He'll believe me, _Suigetsu told himself firmly. He took a left down a sloped driveway. He reached in his shirt, extracted a key-card on the end of a lanyard, and swiped it against the device on the wall. The light on it turned green and the shutters slid upwards, revealing a darkened car park. Suigetsu directed his motorbike slowly inside and parked in the first available slot. He gestured for Sasuke to just leave his helmet on top of the seat.

"Where are we going?"

Suigetsu pressed the UP button repeatedly, waiting for the elevator.

"I just bought a new apartment. I've been saving up for a while now,"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. _Does he work with Mangetsu, or...?_

"It's got nothing in it. But we just need to...to talk," Suigetsu faltered a little and stepped into the elevator. Sasuke went in after him. The Hōzuki pressed his key-card against a scanning panel and the device detected what level his apartment was. It started going up smoothly.

After passing five levels without stopping, Sasuke asked: "Why are you doing this?"

Suigetsu shrugged, a little impatient. He was waiting for the thirtieth level. Even though there was nobody else in there with them, Suigetsu was still feeling extremely paranoid. He didn't want to risk it.

"I'll tell you soon,"

They didn't talk again until the elevator door opened again and Suigetsu leaded Sasuke to his apartment. He opened the door with a key and flung the door open. Indeed, it was mostly empty, but there was a couch, a table, chairs and a television. The walls were bare, and the curtains were plain.

"Sit down,"

Suigetsu dumped his backpack onto the ground near the kitchen door as he went in: he re-emerged with a glass of water and gave it to Sasuke, who was still kind of bewildered over the Hōzuki's new set of behaviors.

After several moments of complete, tense silence, Suigetsu spoke.

"Sasuke Uchiha, can I trust you?"

Sasuke paused, the cup of water raised mid-way up to his mouth. He held Suigetsu's piercing gaze and lowered the cup.

"It depends on what you're entrusting me with,"

"Meaning?"

"Meaning...if it is liable to legal punishment, I don't think you should trust me,"

Suigetsu thought about this, looking serious. He gnawed on his lower lip. _I don't know if it's classified as illegal or legal...it's both. But...that's not Mangetsu's fault. _

On seeing the other boy's troubled face, Sasuke added "But I can make exceptions,"

Suigetsu looked up at him again. He smiled a bit, nervously. "That sounds a little bit fishy,"

Sasuke raised and lowered one shoulder.

"Okay," Suigetsu inched forward on the seat and rested his elbows on the table. He looked like a man who was about to make a big negotiation that weighed equally in risks and gains. "I'm just going to shoot and hope I don't miss,"

"Okay,"

"If this gets out...though," here, Suigetsu shivered and lowered his gaze. "...you're dead...I'm dead,"

_Here goes, _he thought. He took a deep breath, and was about to talk when Sasuke interrupted.

"Who exactly is Neji Hyuuga?"

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. "You...you know?"

"I don't know anything...," Sasuke finished the water in his cup. "I'm a speculator,"

"Speculator...hah," Suigetsu rubbed his hands together. "I should be shitting myself. This is all too fucking surreal,"

"What is?"

"This. You. Me. The fact I'm trusting you with me and my brother's asses," Suigetsu sighed. "Your question, Sasuke...that's what I was just about to answer for you,"

"...then answer it,"

_God help me if he's not who I think he is. _

"You were there this morning, weren't you? For how long?"

"Only ten minutes,"

"Then you heard most of it. What do you think of him?"

Sasuke traced his finger around the rim of the cup.

"I saw what happened on the quad yesterday," he said. "It made me suspicious. That was when I started to suspect Neji is not who he seems to be,"

"Right there," Suigetsu pointed at Sasuke. "Right there, that's music to my ears...everyone else, they just think he's a God or something. School valedictorian, voted most likely to succeed from his freshman years. Straight A student, perfect record,"

Suigetsu laughed nervously. "Now I'm not saying all that is _faked..._yeah, Neji's smart. Too smart. But he's also the biggest asshole on earth,"

Sasuke nodded.

"Sasuke, tell me. If you saw a transaction you weren't meant to see, would you blackmail somebody with what you saw?"

Sasuke shook his head slowly. "No...I would not,"

_Blackmail, no. Turn them in, yes. _

"Neji knows something," Suigetsu continued. "You must know that...you heard him in the classroom. You would've been able to deduce that much, no?"

"Yes," _definitely, _Sasuke added mentally.

"Let me tell you something...if it gets out? If Neji tells?" Suigetsu's whole body tensed up. He looked like he was going to break down; like he wanted nothing more than to curl up on the floor and hide. "...my brother...he'll die. They'll beat him, rape him, skin him, eat him and then feed his bones to the dogs," the Hōzuki's mouth formed a grim line. "I'll die too...I guess,"

He glanced up at Sasuke nervously. "You get me?"

_Duh. _

_"_Suigetsu...," _who are you dealing with? _

"This is so stupid," Suigetsu ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "Why am I telling you...I'm...I'm gonna regret this,"

"No," Sasuke tried to think of something smart to say. The guy was _so _close to telling him. "He talked to me about you yesterday,"

"Nice of him," Suigetsu said, a little bit of his original, mean self returning in his voice. "What about?"

"He told me where you came from. And why the school accepted you and keeps you,"

Suigetsu opened and closed his mouth.

"Start from the beginning, Suigetsu. Tell me who the school's heir is,"

Suigetsu's eyes widened and he stared at Sasuke. He'd guessed the Uchiha was _smart, _but he would never have guessed that he would be able to get _this _far. But then again, Suigetsu hadn't bet on Neji actually telling Sasuke about Tower Orochimaru and the school's agreement.

"You might be surprised," Suigetsu said. He leaned forward. "Nobody knows, right? But I do. I have to know, otherwise Neji would never be able to hassle me so much and keep me in the school,"

_Is it Neji? _

"It's quite funny, actually, when you think about it. It's glaringly obvious,"

_Just spit it out, _Sasuke thought impatiently.

"Who?"

"His uncle," Suigetsu said. "Hiashi Hyuuga,"

_His...uncle? _

"You haven't been here long, so let me tell you a little bit of town history," Suigetsu said. "Years ago, Neji's dad took the fall for something Hinata's dad did...did you know they're cousins?"

"No," _I actually thought they were brother and sister..._

"Well they're cousins. And yeah, after that, Hiashi was the only available legal guardian for poor ol' orphaned Neji. Obviously, that was when Neji started on his little manipulative warpath,"

_If Hiashi feels like he owes Neji something, then..._

"When the school made an agreement with Orochimaru, it was done through Hiashi. Why? Because the school has been under his name ever since Neji's dad died. He _inherited _the school...he owns it. Nobody's jurisdiction is higher than his. So what he says, goes, and when he says Neji doesn't have to attend class, Neji isn't expected anywhere,"

_So what Shino said was correct. _

Suigetsu exhaled loudly. _"_Neji hates him. All in good reason. I would hate the guy who, in a sense, framed my dad too, even though everyone said he took the fall voluntarily...but still," he seethed. "That's...no excuse,"

Sasuke nodded, not knowing what to say.

"He doesn't admit it out loud, of course, otherwise his plan would be ruined. He would be ruined,"

"I see,"

Suigetsu eyed Sasuke critically.

"Neji...he saw something go on with my brother. Mangetsu. You know him,"

He made a flippant hand gesture that indicated he knew Sasuke had been at the ramen shop before.

"Mangetsu, he...he made a stupid mistake,"

"What...did he do?"

"He double-crossed," Suigetsu managed after a pause. His face was stricken with fear and worry. "He double-crossed the ANBU and Akatsuki,"

_Huh? _

_"_You don't know it, so I'll tell you now. The ANBU...they're like the Yakuza, or Mafia. They were an elite bunch back in the days, but they've since gone completely corrupt, completely fucking out of control._ And..._their sworn enemy? I don't have to tell you,"

_Akatsuki. _

_Why? _

"Neji saw Mangetsu enter the Akatsuki building," Suigetsu said, his voice weak. "And Mangetsu, he's...meant to be...working for the ANBU. A snitch,"

Sasuke said nothing.

"He would die...if Neji told..the ANBU that Mangetsu had stepped so calmly into enemy territory, let alone the possibility he leaked information...which he did, by the way,"

Suigetsu shook his head, his hands shaking slightly.

"Sasuke...I only...do those...things to the kids because Neji...,"

"I know," Sasuke interrupted. He couldn't help but reach over and awkwardly pat Suigetsu's hand. The Uchiha's eyes had glazed over with determination because the situation was so damn fucked up. And wrong. _Neji _was wrong.

"Neji wants to avenge his father," Sasuke began. "He uses what he has on Mangetsu against you to make _you _the cause of the trouble in school...to piss Hiashi off,"

Suigetsu swallowed the lumps in his throat.

"Y-yeah...that's...right,"

_If it goes on like this, Neji can make Suigetsu do anything..._

Sasuke clenched his hands into fists in a silent fury and something flashed in his hardened eyes.

_I'll stop it. _


	19. Deidara Reaches Breaking Point

When Sakura, Hinata and Tenten came into the café, it was the last thing on Deidara's mind to flirt and annoy the first girl, but he nevertheless earned a trademark glare from her. It made the blonde supremely annoyed. Well, more annoyed than he already was.

He agitatedly scratched the side of his head and waited a few moments before getting up. That was when Hidan stopped him.

"That face of yours is fucking annoying," he grumbled. "Let me do this,"  
_My face is what? _Deidara tried to see his reflection in one of the stainless steel pots and found that he looked like he had a death wish. He straightened his face up again and watched as Hidan whipped out his notepad, ready to jot down the orders. Deidara had a feeling Hidan didn't have such a great memory.

_Who the hell? _Sakura thought. _How many new guys are going to keep showing up here? _But then again, they _had _added a new menu—it wasn't like Sasori was going to be the only one working in the kitchen anymore. And Sai, who had just come in fifteen minutes ago.

"Tell me what you want," Hidan said. "Make it quick,"

His voice sounded slightly nasal and it sounded like he did a lot of whining, but it was loud and confident. His muscular frame—yes, it was still apparent beneath his stiff white uniform—suggested he worked out. He was unlike most chefs Sakura had ever seen. Or met.

"I think I'm not hungry," Tenten said. "I'll just take some off you guys. Just a little,"

"Hmmm," Sakura tapped her fingers against the tabletop as she scanned the new part of the menu.

"I'll…I'll just have a chicken sandwich," Hinata glanced nervously at Hidan, wondering what was wrong with Deidara. She'd been wondering ever since she walked through the door, and now that it was _this _man taking their order…_Deidara I hope you're alright…_

"You worried about blondie?"

Hinata jumped a little. Hidan raised an eyebrow at the nervous girl, but said nothing.

"Y…yes," she managed to say, even though she didn't know where such courage came from. Tenten nudged Sakura, smiling widely, but Sakura wasn't paying attention.

"He's been like that all fuc—all day," Hidan corrected himself. "Dunno what's wrong. Maybe you should work some womanly magic on him, eh?"

Hinata blushed red and nodded. _I guess. _

"I'll just have the basket of sweet-potato chips," Sakura said, smiling politely at Hidan. "I don't want to eat that much before dinner,"

"Sure thing," Hidan turned around and went back into the kitchen, flexing his muscles. Deidara watched him, glanced back at the table of girls, and then went in after him.

"Hidan,"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks,"

Hidan took out a single sweet potato and began washing it, rubbing his fingers into the wells, over the lumps and bumps.

"Eh. Just couldn't fucking take you sitting there looking like you need a good slap in the fucking face,"

"Sorry," Deidara mumbled. He watched as all the dirt washed from the potato into the sink. He didn't know Hidan would be _this _nice, and supposed he'd better return the favor one day.

_Don't get used to it, _Hidan thought. _I'm only fucking doing this for Pein. _

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, getting out the vegetable peeler and getting to work on the potato.

"Nothing…," Deidara swept some of his fringe behind his ear. "Just woke up like this,"

"Riiiighttt. Sure, blondie,"

"There is something wrong with Deidara?"

The Iwa gave Sai a withered look.

"_No, _Sai, hmmm,"

On seeing Sai, Deidara suddenly recalled the scene he'd stumbled upon—Sai and Ino. It made him feel a little better knowing someone else's life _didn't _have a troublesome girl like his did. He patted Hidan on the shoulder and walked up to Sai.

"You gonna go after your beautiful Ino, huh?"

Sai smiled a bit, and this time, it didn't look so practiced.

"Maybe," he said cryptically. He gave Deidara a look that said Sasori would kill him if he stopped to talk for too long, and then moved away.

"You kissed him on the cheek?" Tenten repeated in disbelief. Sakura nodded, still completely caught up with the feeling that had overcome her.

"_Yes, _and it felt…,"

"I'm sure it felt great," Tenten smiled warmly. Then she turned to Hinata. "Hinata, are you…thinking about Deidara?"

Hinata nodded wordlessly.

"Go on," Tenten said. "Go ask him what's wrong then. When he comes out,"

_No! _Hinata thought, squirming in her seat. Yesterday night had been quite enough for her nerves, handing Deidara the Vaseline. She _wasn't—_

"He's probably just sad he, like, scratched his car or something," Sakura said. Tenten immediately glared at her, but the Haruno just shrugged.

"You know _full _well that he—," Tenten stopped. "You know that Hinata _likes _him, Sakura, have some consideration,"

"What?" Sakura said. "It's _true. _He's always so—,"

Deidara set down the chicken sandwich in front of Hinata, along with a cup of iced lychee tea, because he knew Hinata liked it.

"It's on the house…Hinata," he said. His eyes flashed a little when his gaze fell over Sakura, who just "hmph"-ed at him and crossed her arms defensively. It was obvious he'd heard everything. _Not that I care…_Sakura thought. But if that were so—if she didn't care—why was her heart beating so fast?

"Sorry Deidara," Tenten said. "Um, are you—,"

"You don't have to apologize," Deidara said. "Since it's not your fault. But I guess it's better than some people who won't apologize until I threaten to, I don't know, _rape _them, yeah?"

And with that, the blonde waiter just turned and walked back to his post. Sakura reddened in the face, but she was feeling more humiliation than fury.

"What was _that _all about?" Tenten said, confused.

"Nothing," Sakura snapped, annoyed at how much Deidara's words had cut her. _Stupid Deidara. _

Hinata picked up the drink and took a sip through the straw. It was perfect.

* * *

"Are you going to be alright getting home from here?" Suigetsu pushed the glass door open. He and Sasuke stepped out into the sunlight.

Sasuke nodded.

"I'll be fine,"

"Thanks…again," Suigetsu rubbed his arms uneasily. "For listening. At least,"

Sasuke nodded again, and said nothing for a while.

"Do you think we can solve this?"

"Huh?"

Sasuke turned to face him. "Do you think we can solve this?" he repeated without any exasperation his voice. Suigetsu gulped.

"Um…," to be honest, back in the days when only _he _knew about his situation, he would definitely have said 'no, it can't ever fucking be solved,' but—

"We can," Sasuke said. Then he walked away coolly.


	20. The Web of Akatsuki

"Itachi, emergency conference meeting. Come with me,"

"Okay,"

Itachi got up and shut his computer—his office door locked itself automatically when he closed the door, but it didn't hurt to be extra cautious about security.

"What's the problem?" he asked Konan as they walked. His employer tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear.

"An issue has just arisen," she explained quickly. "It's a blessing that you're here now,"  
"Issue?"

"Yes. We found out who hired Kakuzu," Konan stopped before a set of grand oak doors. "We will be with the executives of Akatsuki…Pein will be presiding over this case,"

"Alright,"

If Itachi had been anybody else, he would have rightfully been intimidated by the last-minute mention that he would be meeting the elusive-yet-powerful CEO of Akatsuki. He couldn't count the number of times he'd heard people in Hotel Taka speculate over his appearance; about how terrifying he looked, about how his eyes screamed authority. Itachi had only seen him once in the newspaper, and really all the Uchiha thought of the guy was that he must've really liked piercings. It was clear that he was influential and respected enough for fellow professionals to overlook this usually looked-down-upon facial feature.

When Konan opened the door, Itachi couldn't help but be a little bit breath taken by the state-of-the-art of the technologies that equipped the room; they _had _to be presents from Akatsuki. Computers, laptops, giant speakers, slim microphones…it looked like it came from the future.

Pein waited until Itachi sat down.

There were three other men in the room: one was Zetsu—Itachi recognized the green-haired, black-and-white faced man as Pein's senior executive associate from all the newspapers. There was a guy who looked like a shark, and, across from him, a black-haired man wearing an odd orange mask. They were an unusual yet serious bunch.

"You must be Itachi," Pein began. "Welcome. You already know that I am Pein,"

"Yes. It's a pleasure,"

"Likewise," the CEO gestured at Konan. "Konan may have already told you we found who hired Kakuzu,"  
"Yes,"

"We all have these papers in front of us," Pein continued. Itachi looked down at the sheaf in front of him—they seemed to be…

"They are ID scans and details of those nine people who made Kakuzu defect,"

"Defect?" Itachi spoke up. Konan had said firmly that Akatsuki were unaffiliated with Kakuzu…right? So if what she said was true, it was wrong of Pein to use the word _defect._

"…Indeed," Pein lied after a while. "Kakuzu was one of ours, but he was only our top negotiator. Never an assassin,"

"Oh, Kakuzu-sama, how we miss him!" the masked man sighed in a clear mockery of the fact that the man was now in jail. His voice overall sounded light and jocular, but there was an uncomfortably sinister note in it.

"I see,"

"The nine who hired him—I've never seen them as a threat. I have no idea who they are to begin with…but it seems we have more enemies than we think,"

"We call them the Jinchuuriki," the shark-man piped up, glancing at Itachi with his beady eyes. "A conspiracy group,"

"We have limited knowledge of why they want to go up against us, especially in such an underhanded manner," Konan said.

"So they are—excuse my slang—complete randoms?" the masked man asked.

Pein looked at him emotionlessly. "Yes, Tobi,"

"How fun," Tobi flipped over the pages and said nothing else.

"So what are we meant to do?" Pein continued. "We are meant to meet with them. And begin our negotiations immediately—with legal force, if necessary. Rest assured Itachi, we are not a corrupt group,"

_Really? _Itachi thought. The feelings he kept getting from the meeting, well, he had a lot of doubts about the purity of Akatsuki…and Hotel Taka. But he was never one to assume things about people until it was confirmed.

"We have enough people," Zetsu grunted, his voice low and raspy. "Why are we still including others?"

"We need them, Zetsu," Pein said firmly. "Itachi, we are enlisting some others to aid us in this matter. But you do not need to meet with them all—I will see to that myself,"

"And Hidan?"

Pein turned to the shark man.

"Hidan...he is going with his orders as we speak. There is no need to worry about his absence here, Kisame,"

"So the problem is, succinctly, there is a group wanting to crumble my empire. And I want to stop that by taking action. Each of you…will assist me in that," Pein looked at Itachi, who could feel the sharpness of his gaze. "Itachi, Kisame will explain more to you. Adjourned,"

"We can't exactly just _reveal _that we know Kakuzu was hired by them," Kisame said. "Because we obtained the information through hearsay. It would be inadmissible in court,"

"Then how are you so certain about the Jinchuuriki?"

"We sent a few private investigators around. Everything just matched up in a way that was too _exact _to be coincidental…that's why we need to meet them in person. We can make them an offer; Pein doesn't want Akatsuki to be in the headlines again, so he doesn't want to make an arrest and press charges and all that,"

Itachi nodded in understanding. It was reasonable that the CEO didn't want any more media attention—they'd probably say something like Pein made up the Jinchuuriki to save his own image.

"So we have to meet with each of them personally. We have a lot of money to burn," Kisame said, implying that they would use money to shut up and stop the Jinchuuriki—it sounded all logical and good, but there was one flaw that Itachi couldn't overlook; was silence really all Pein was looking for after all the trouble that the Jinchuuriki gave him by making Kakuzu kill Akatsuki's oppositions? Shouldn't the guy be seeking…revenge? Humiliation of the Jinchuuriki? It seemed awfully undignified to just pay them money—it was like you were accepting the fact that'd won.

"The Jinchuuriki have no idea that we've tracked them," Kisame said. "The investigators we sent say they are _extremely _discreet about their participation in the group. Which is why we need only the highest of the ranks in Akatsuki to set out on this…job,"

"Of course,"

"You must be pretty capable then, eh, Itachi?" Kisame grinned, displaying rows of sharp teeth. "Second day here, Pein already trusts you,"

Itachi shrugged.

"Well, anyway, we gotta wait until Hidan comes back with news that he's got the help of these other two people we're wanting,"

Itachi wondered who the other two were—Pein had made them sound like they were integral to the plan. And if they were integral, then they must've had a huge reputation. Itachi felt his phone vibrate and he took it out—he had a new message. He clicked _read. _

It was from Sakura: "hey Itachi! I haven't seen you at the café lately. Hope you're alright,"

Itachi smiled a little. He didn't bother replying—he would arrange to see her later. The kiss still lingered in his brain, but he didn't let the implications of it bother him. After all, it could have been very innocent.

* * *

**_Hours later_**

"Deidara, come with us,"

The blonde looked at Hidan with a face of complete exasperation. "What now, un?"

"We're gonna grab a drink," Hidan pulled on his giant coat. "You're legal, right? To drink?"

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Yeah,"

"Come on then, get off your fucking ass and come with. I'm not taking no for an answer,"

Deidara propped the broom up against the wall and followed the chef outside. The breeze immediately picked up and was chilly against his waiter uniform. Sasori came out behind him, locked the place up and stood beside him for a moment.

"What's on your mind, Deidara?" he asked, wiping his hands, not looking at the blonde.

"Nothing," Deidara grumbled. He fished around in his pockets for his car keys. A drink was starting to sound like a better idea now since he still felt so down in the dumps. All because of Sakura. _Goddamn her. _"Where are we going?"

Sasori swung his bunch of keys absentmindedly around his finger. "Killer Bee's Bar,"

"Alright,"

Deidara slid into the driver's seat of his car and adjusted the rearview mirror a little. He glanced over at the empty passenger's seat and thought of Hinata. It made him a little less annoyed.

Killer Bee's Bar was renowned as the venue of choice for people who wanted to drink away their worries—and if they weren't drinking, they were throwing their glasses at the bartender, whose rapping was so bad you wanted to cut off your own ears. But no glass had ever cut the guy, because he was _huge. _He was a walking hulk of muscle.

Deidara eased his car onto the road. Hidan's black car had personalized plates, fluffy red dice, and was very, very clean. Deidara wondered where the guy had gotten so much money—his previous job must've had generous pay. In that case, why the hell was he here now, at their café? He must've been fired. Deidara glanced in his rearview mirror and saw Sasori a ways behind, still reversing out from the staff parking lot behind the café.

* * *

"Yeah? Yeah, yeah, tell the fucking leader Jashin will smite him if he asks me again," Hidan barked into the speaker. Kisame's form wavered in the little LCD-screen just above the air conditioner.

"Sure thing," Kisame chuckled. "Going out for a drink now?"

"I've got Sasori down for fucking sure," Hidan said. He pressed down lightly on the brake as the traffic light turned red. "Just got fucking Deidara to deal with. Looks like a pansy to me,"

"If Pein wants him, I guess there's a reason,"

"Sure, sure,"

And with that, the screen went black. Hidan ran a hand through his silvery hair. He licked his lips, wanting to lick some blood again soon.


	21. Too Much Alcohol

Hidan took a good, long sip of his Jack Daniels while Sasori tried to make it not obvious that he wasn't drinking as much as he should've been—beside him, Deidara had finished two whiskey on the rocks and was getting started on another. Sasori was seriously starting to wonder what exactly was wrong with him, but then decided he probably wouldn't care when he knew about it.

"Been a long fucking day," Hidan commented, smacking his lips and taking a deep breath. "I need to release,"

"Hmmm," Deidara swirled his glass around, watching as the ice clinked against each other. He was definitely tipsy, but he could still think perfectly straight. He was running an idea over in his mind—that is, whether or not to try and woo Sakura _properly _instead of being such an ass. Maybe he should start by apologizing—that could work. _Or not. She owes _me _apologies, _the Iwa thought indignantly. He suppressed a burp.

"Sasori…you know about my 'thing'," Hidan began, noticing that Deidara probably wasn't listening. He eyed Sasori pointedly. The redhead nodded disinterestedly and took a sip of his scotch.

"You wanna know more about it? It's a fucking interesting story,"

The Jashinist gestured to the bartender on shift to get Deidara another drink, even though the blonde hadn't asked for one. Sasori's skin prickled and he knew Hidan was up to something.

"Sure,"

"Well it goes like this," Hidan leaned in towards Sasori confidentially. His purple eyes glimmered with malicious intention. "Sasori, you wanna join Akatsuki?"

His breath was cold and smelled like his alcohol. The redhead eyed Hidan levelly.

"C'mon. I've dug some of your old shit up," Hidan leaned back again and took another swig. He was starting to get pink in the face, but Sasori could tell it would take a long time before he got drunk. "Or are you trying to reform?"

Sasori ran a finger slowly around the rim of his tumbler of scotch. The bartender plunked another whiskey on the rocks in front of Deidara, who downed it immediately.

"You should be careful who you ask," Sasori said finally. He brought the scotch up to his lips and avoided Hidan's gaze. "None of them are trustworthy,"

Hidan raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Meaning they won't not tell me that somebody's been asking questions about _me_," Sasori smiled. It was an evil smile. Hidan noted this.

"Oooh. Sneaky guy," Hidan's fingers itched to be around his scythe again—the deadly weapon was in the trunk of his car, beneath a fitted rug. But he knew he couldn't—not tonight. "So you know what the Akatsuki really are, eh?"

"I have my sources," Sasori glanced at him sideways. "I don't know everything, though,"

"You'll know soon enough. Doesn't fucking matter, does it?"

Sasori contemplated over this for a while. All he _really _wanted in joining the most corrupt section of technology giant Akatsuki was so he had a reason to kill: when he _did _commit the act, the moves were random. He didn't kill anybody in particular, because nothing happened in the city. Akatsuki could probably keep him on his toes, killing people of high-profile...it sounded way too intriguing to refuse.

"Okay,"

"Great," Hidan chugged the last tenth of his bottle of Jack Daniels. He itched his nose. "Now there's one more condition. Freaking wish there wasn't, though,"

"What is it?"

Hidan eyed him, then nodded in the direction of Deidara, who was slumped over and staring into the ice in his drinks. Sasori understood immediately, but what he didn't understand was _why _they needed Deidara as well.

"Explain,"

"Don't fucking know," Hidan answered. "Don't you know anything about him?"

Sasori shook his head. "No,"

"Hmph," Hidan grabbed a handful of the nuts that had been set down in front of him and chewed on them, making loud crunching noises. "Well whatever he's got in there, we'll find out soon enough. You done?"

Sasori pushed his glass away and nodded, even though it was still half full. As mentioned before, when he was drunk, he got _really _embarrassing, and he'd rather not go that way.

"Come on," Hidan slid a hundred dollar note beneath his empty bottle, paying for all of their drinks with plenty of change, and immediately walked over to Deidara, who groaned that he had a headache.

"Time to fucking up and leave, Iwa," Hidan grunted, lifting Deidara up. He inspected the blonde's reddened face with open amusement before hauling him outside.

"Fuck," Deidara put a hand to his head. The tongue there licked at the skin on his forehead.

Sasori sighed and watched. He didn't know what Hidan was up to, but it was bound to be interesting, considering Sasori himself did not know anything in Deidara's expertise that would assist the Akatsuki, and he wanted to know.

"Man, this baby can't take his alcohol," Hidan said, stepping back in disgust as Deidara coughed into the gutter, a mouthful of spew splattering onto the road. "I'm not taking him in my car,"

Sasori raised an eyebrow. He wasn't aware that they were going anywhere.

"Guess I'll have to fucking do it then," Hidan said. He wiped his hands on his pants and whipped his mobile out of his pocket. He was going to call somebody. Sasori looked away from him: the moon was full tonight, and it looked fat and inviting in the sky. It churned and played at the urge in Sasori's stomach to kill...it was something he hadn't done in a long time, and with the entrance of Hidan, the want to do it was reborn.

_I, after all, have many "relics" waiting for me at home...waiting for more to join them..._Sasori hid a smile.

"Hey, Kisame. Yeah, yeah I got him. I'm waiting for the other one though. Yeah, the pansy," Hidan looked down at Deidara, who looked like he was in pain. "He's throwing up,"

The pounding in Deidara's head had grown in intensity and strength, and he was starting to get extremely dizzy. He'd only _drunk_ so much because he'd been thinking about Sakura. He knew there wasn't that much to think about, considering he had never even tried to court her properly. He admitted that they got off on the wrong foot, but it was still wrong of her to be such an unreasonable bitch to him. He threw up a little again, tasting a bit of his breakfast, only vaguely listening to Hidan's conversation on the Iwa made a little resolution to be nicer to her, and maybe ask her out or something. But then he remembered Hinata was always with her, and he _had _kissed Hinata on the forehead...wasn't that a little bit rude of him? He knew the kiss was innocent, but it would totally look like he was two-timing..._fuck, why can't life come with a manual. _

_"What? _It's not MY fucking fault he can't drink," Hidan whined. "Well what if I kept buying him drinks? Just get your fat ass over. Or not. Fine. _Fuck you_,"

Hidan hung up before Kisame could say anything. Keeping an eye on Deidara, he walked over to his car and rooted around in its glove compartment before extracting a sleek silver phone, the latest model by the Akatsuki, and tossed it over to Sasori. It was still in a tight plastic wrapping designed to keep dirt, dust and other uncleanliness out.

"It's got all the contacts you'll need," he explained. He walked over to the trunk of his car. "All of them are just the Akatsuki. You'll figure it out,"

Sasori slipped the device into his pocket. He knew he wasn't going to use it much - he preferred face-to-face communication. Hidan's trunk clicked open.

"Check this out,"

He took out his beloved triple-bladed scythe for a moment. Its red blades gleamed devilishly in the moonlight. Sasori glimpsed around, but there was hardly anybody about. He returned his gaze to Hidan, and for the first time, he noticed a necklace around the guy's neck.

_What's he gonna do? _

"Haha...Let's see what Pein wants in you, eh?" Hidan threw the scythe.

At Deidara.

Sasori just watched.

* * *

"Hello? Hinata?"

"Hey, Sakura," Hinata's voice was even more timid over the phone, and Sakura wondered if it was because of her father, Hiashi. He didn't like noise. Last time Sakura had been over at their house, going around Hiashi was like stepping on eggshells.

"Listen," Sakura twirled the phone cord around her finger. Her mother had wanted to buy the cordless ones, but Sakura wanted something retro and cool. "I'm so sorry about today, I was just...you know," she sighed dramatically. "I was really over-excited about Itachi. And I just...," she choked a little on her words. Even though it was Hinata, she always sucked at and hated apologizing for something bad she'd done. And remembering Deidara's words, for some reason, just made her heart thud dully against her chest. "...I just find it really easy to diss Deidara, and I guess I'm just a bitch,"

Hinata nodded. "It's alright," in truth, she didn't really care or mind Sakura's treatment and attitude towards Deidara, because the waiter was kind of the same as Naruto, her previous crush: people _always _dissed them. She was kind of used to it. Immune to it.

"So, how's your life lately? You totally should have talked to Deidara today. Asked him what's up,"

Hinata blushed. Neji brushed past her to get to the kitchen. She wondered if she should tell Sakura about Deidara's kiss, but she couldn't bring herself to do it because the thought of it and the fact that only she and Deidara knew about it made her warm and tingly inside. It was a special bond. Maybe a first step...

_No, Deidara-kun doesn't like me..._

She touched the spot where Deidara had kissed - yes, she remembered the exact spot - and blushed some more.

"Sure," she managed.

"Seriously, Hinata," Sakura said, and she was very serious - she wanted her friend to snag the guy of her dreams, after all, even if the guy of her dreams was the guy of Sakura's nightmares. Well, not really. When she thought about it, she didn't really _hate _the guy, it was just that...Sakura bit her lip. She couldn't explain _why._"Ask him. It might get you somewhere," she added with a gentle, encouraging tone.

"Okay,"

"Well, I gotta go now," Sakura sighed in exasperation, drawing circles on her duvet. "Can't talk for that long, you know?"

"Yes. Good night?"

"Good night, Hinata. Remember what I said!"

* * *

"!"

Even in his drunken stupor, Deidara rolled out of the way, wincing a little as the scythe just brushed his skin: it didn't cut him, but his skin felt all cold and weird. He glared at Hidan and wiped the spew from the corner on his mouth.

"What the fuck?"

He glanced at Sasori, who was purposefully avoiding his gaze, yet obviously watching the battle. Deidara narrowed his eyes. _Who the crap is this...? 'Chef'? And why is danna just -_

His thoughts were cut off just as the scythe began its path towards him again.

_So far, unexciting, _Sasori brought his hand up to his face and inspected his nails disinterestedly.

Deidara leaped out of the way. His head was still killing him, and his vision was slightly off and foggy. He grit his teeth and thought _fuck. _Because if this was what he thought it was, then...

_I'll have to do it, un. Yeah..._ he suddenly felt a rush in his blood, but he didn't know whether it was from the alcohol or his body. He didn't care. He shook his head very lightly, very gently, and then forced himself to focus. He still had no idea what was happening, and was kind of wondering whether or not it was a hallucination, but the scythe's metal against his skin had been all too real.

"Suck on this, bitch!" Deidara snapped, clearly more aggressive and cocky when he was drunk: one of the mouths on his hands regurgitated a chunk of clay he'd put in there to keep them occupied. It came out in the form of a scorpion. Sasori narrowed his eyes as Deidara got a firm grip on it and threw it at Hidan, who immediately brought up his scythe to deflect it - but the scorpion latched onto this weapon.

And promptly blew up.

_So that's what he is, eh, _Hidan brought his scythe down and charged at Deidara again. This time, though, he skidded to a halt right in front of him. The sudden movement made Deidara's head spin, and he lost his balance for a moment.

"So you're a bomber?"

"What?" Deidara sputtered, utterly confused by Hidan's actions. He suppressed the urge to curl over and puke again. This was _serious. _

"Dammmn," Hidan flung his scythe backwards towards his car. "Never knew you were _that _type,"

Sasori hadn't known either. He walked over to where Hidan and Deidara stood.

"Whatthefuckishappening?" Deidara burbled. He glanced from Sasori to Hidan and back to Sasori. Then he looked down at his hand, where the mouth chomped noisily. His eyes widened as he finally realized what he'd just done.

_Oh, fuck. _Deidara had had the ominous ability from birth, but after accidentally setting fire to a shopping centre, he'd vowed never to do it again. Like cigarettes to a person, however, the clay was addictive. And Deidara had had to formulate a special type that imitated the original detonating clay but wasn't it entirely to keep his "cravings" at bay. The explosion before had been lightweight stuff - not enough to even blow someone's limbs off. In order for the imitation clay to, well, satisfy his mouths they had to have some sort of exploding ability about them. His palms grew clammy as he remembered all the _lives _he'd taken that day. He gulped. He'd never been caught, never been suspected..._Hidan, who are you? _

"Fucking awesome," Hidan remarked. "People will do anything when they're drunk,"

The dizzy spell returned and Deidara gripped his head, grunting. He fell against his car, knowing he was _not _in a fit state to drive. The flames of his first bombing licked at his memory, and he wanted nothing more than to pass out so he didn't have to _think _about it anymore. He wrenched the clay out from his other mouth and flung it to the ground angrily. Sasori looked at it as it rolled to his feet, wondering why he'd never noticed this before. He nodded slightly in approval.

Deidara still didn't know what was happening, and he didn't like it at all.

* * *

Sasori rolled Deidara onto the bed. The redhead rolled his eyes as his employee moaned some more.

Deidara's head felt like it was being squashed and pressured with two, giant iron fists. It hurt like hell, not to mention the fact that he'd just _bombed _Hidan. Why the hell did the chef attack him anyway?

_Too many fucking questions_, the Iwa thought. He pulled the blanket out from beneath him and wrapped it around himself immediately, because he felt cold.

Sasori cocked his head a little and yawned. Deidara's car was still parked outside Killer Bee's, but Hidan had promised that somebody would get somebody else to return the car back to its rightful spot. Sasori assumed that it would be done by one of Akatsuki's lackeys.

"Sleep well, Deidara," Sasori turned to leave when the blonde grabbed his wrist, his hand shooting out from beneath the blanket. Sasori was surprised at the firm grip, and turned to face him again.

"Stay with me, danna," the blonde said, his voice muffled from beneath the blanket. He sounded like a crybaby, but the request made Sasori's skin tingle. The redhead knew he should probably leave before something happened - something _very, very _regrettable - but the little alcohol he had consumed earlier buzzed through his body and made him stay. He felt the butterflies skip around in his stomach and instantly wanted to punch himself for touching scotch when he knew he was the world's worst drinker. He looked at the door, then at the lump beneath the blanket that was Deidara.

_Fuck it. _


	22. The Morning After

**Hey guys: this story has not been put out firmly whether or not it'll be an ItaSaku or DeiSaku ~ I changed this fanfic's main characters from Itachi and Sakura to Deidara and Sakura only because Itachi didn't appear as much as I first thought he would. So don't lose hope for ItaSaku! Or DeiSaku=) At this point it can be either. **

"Hnnngh,"

Deidara opened his eyes a little: sunlight streamed in steadily through the window. It only served to make his hangover ten times worse than it really was; his head still felt like it had a giant metal ball rolling around inside it, his mouth felt like it was basted with mucous, and he was pretty sure he stank of alcohol. Even his arm was aching because he'd been sleeping in a weird position all nigh—

The blonde's widened completely and he rolled out of bed onto the floor. He hastily pulled himself up into a standing position.

Sasori was there.

_Danna?...!_

His boss had propped himself up with pillows and was scanning his nails. It seemed to be a habit of his. He glanced at Deidara with a look that showed he didn't find it strange, unusual, or _really fucked up _that he was there, sitting in Deidara's bed.

"Woke up?"

Deidara looked down at himself, but thankfully, he was still in his boxers. He looked from Sasori's half-nakedness to his own.

"What…?" he remembered being drunk, and being attacked by Hidan—although _that _could have been a figment of his imagination—but he did _not _remember Sasori in his _house. _

"Did we…?" _what? What the fuck? This…_

"What do you think?" Sasori slid out from beneath the blanket and cracked his neck. He was _still _standing there, un_fazed_ by the whole thing. Deidara suddenly felt sick again and rushed to the toilet, hurling all that was left in his stomach into its bowl, forgetting Sasori for a moment.

He wiped his mouth with a fistful of tissues before brushing his teeth furiously. If he was going to overreact about the fact that he and Sasori may or may not have _done _something, he wanted to do it without feeling like a walking pile of dirt and scum.

_Jesus…what the fuck…_

He gurgled and spat, then reached for the mouthwash. The stuff was acrid and disgusting in his mouth, but it made him feel a little more refreshed. He walked back out to find Sasori threading his arms through his white shirt, his red hair messy. The baker glanced at Deidara, bracing himself for the inevitable barrage.

"What the _hell_?" Deidara said, reaching over for his pants and pulling them on defiantly, a little embarrassed. "You just…what…last night…,"

"Deidara," Sasori sighed, now fully clothed. "You were drunk,"

"I know I was drunk, hm!" he stared at Sasori incredulously and then looked down at his own body, trying to recall the feeling of his danna's body against his own, but he couldn't find that memory. He shivered. The fact that he couldn't remember didn't mean it hadn't happened—Sasori in his bed was proof enough.

"Ugh,"

Deidara didn't know how to react any further. All he really felt was embarrassment. He wondered if Sasori had taken advantage of him, or if it was the fruit of his own actions. He didn't want to know. He forced himself to think of other things—after all, it wasn't exactly the first time he'd done something he regretted when he was drunk. It was just that _this _time, it was with _Sasori. _

"Let's go to work," the blonde grumbled. He glanced at Sasori suspiciously, wondering if this was purely a no-strings-attached event, or if the redhead had other motives. But Sasori did nothing—he didn't even look at Deidara. He just grabbed a tissue, blew his nose, and walked out with the blonde. Sure enough, Deidara's car had been returned. On seeing his vehicle, Deidara suddenly remembered Hidan. And his scythe.

"Danna, why did…Hidan attack me?"

Sasori was walking to his car. He turned around slowly, like he had all the time in the world. He probably did.

"You remember?"

_Damn right I remember. _Deidara looked down at his hands. His fingers were shaking and they felt tired and sore. _Shit. _He bit his lip hard. He was overcome with the anxiety and paranoia that always ensued whenever his _secret _was close to or was exposed. And it never really had been, but Deidara was always on guard whenever it had the slightest chance to be uncovered…he clenched his fists tight. Hidan _couldn't _have been some FBI investigator or anything to do with the police—so what was he? ANBU? _No, he's not ANBU…he's not wild enough._

"You will find out soon enough," Sasori said vaguely. Deidara wanted to throw a rock at him. He furrowed his eyebrows and his mouth twitched and twisted into a scornful, contrite leer.

Yesterday's events were only getting weirder.

_First I almost get my arm sliced off by Hidan—whoever the fuck he really is, and then I sleep with Sasori. Fuck my life. _

_

* * *

_  
As Kisame's company-issued car pulled up to the curb outside Itachi's apartment, Sakura was waiting outside the café for him. Deidara and Sasori had only gone in a few minutes before; they both looked more disheveled than usual, and Sakura wondered if they'd gotten into a fight or something. The blonde had given her a supremely pissed off look she knew wasn't induced by her while Sasori opened up. Sakura could practically smell the tension between them, and she wondered what was up. She really wanted to ask, but it would be nosey of her to talk to Deidara just for the sake of gossip.

"Here, Sasuke," Itachi handed his little brother an envelope. The older Uchiha looked like he was in a rush, and was out of the door in no time. Sasuke slid a finger under the flap and lifted it up, peeking inside. It was a card for the bank Itachi was with. The message was clear: Sasuke now had an all-access pass to Itachi's account. He took the card out, put it in his wallet, and then continued eating breakfast.

* * *

"You want coffee?" Kisame turned the air conditioning down a notch as Itachi slid into the passenger's seat beside him. The handsome Uchiha nodded and reached into his briefcase. "Yeah,"

"I prefer something cold in my mornings," Kisame said. He cruised down the road. _Heh…I wonder how Hidan's going. _The Hoshigaki glanced sideways at Itachi. _If he frequents the café as much as Pein says he does, then that means he would know of Deidara…or Sasori. _

_Well they're all in for a nasty surprise. _

The only reason Kisame had offered to drive Itachi that morning was solely because he wanted to see Deidara and Sasori himself without making it too purposeful. He parked outside the café, behind Deidara's car. Sakura watched closely as the two men climbed out of the vehicle, and her green eyes brightened and her whole body tingled when she saw Itachi. She put her phone up to her ears immediately and pretended she was on a phone call.

Itachi spotted Sakura almost immediately and he couldn't deny the leap his heart did when he registered her pink hair. She looked innocent and decidedly pretty in her outfit, and when she saw him, she gave him a practiced _I'm interested in you, but I'll pretend you're just another one of my friends _smile.

Kisame saw the blonde even before he got through the door. He looked disgruntled and Kisame thought it was funny that he knew exactly what had happened the night before. Deidara saw Itachi and had to sigh. The fact he was still kind of hung over, confused, distraught and angry meant that he felt it wasn't too much to ask of anyone to put up with his attitude.

It was obvious now why Sakura was standing outside. Not that Deidara cared at this point—all he cared about was the secrecy of his bombs. Which meant the question of who Hidan really was was still floating around in his brain. He eyed the shark-faced man who was accompanying Itachi this morning critically, but found nothing particularly familiar about him.

"Hey,"

Itachi noted that Deidara looked even more frazzled than yesterday, and it was obvious that the guy had drunk earlier. His face gave him away, but Itachi had to admit he covered it up well.

"Sup Itachi," the blonde immediately got to work, while asking Kisame what he wanted.

"I'll just grab a bottle of sparkling water," the guy barked.

_Unusual choice, _Deidara thought. He reached into the refrigerated shelves of drinks and produced a bottle of the stuff. He set it down on the counter.

_So he's an explosives expert, huh? Never would have thought it, _Kisame screwed the lid off the sparkling water and took a sip, indulging in its coolness. _Hidan was right. He does look unfit for the Akatsuki. _

"Hey Itachi,"

Sakura was kind of intimidated by Itachi's friend, but she didn't let it show. She took a deep breath and smiled again. She'd spent ages that morning mulling over what to wear, and had changed about a thousand times before settling on what she had first.

"Hello Sakura," Sasuke's brother smiled at her. It made Sakura's heart melt. Again. "What do you have this morning in school?"

The word _school _made it even more apparent how much older Itachi was, but Sakura had chanted to herself over and over that this wasn't a problem.

"I have Mathematics," she said. She glanced at Deidara, who was already looking at her, and glanced away, her cheeks burning.

"Oh," Itachi said. He paid for his long black and Kisame's water. "Do you like it?"

_Not as much as I like you…_ "No, not really,"

This made Itachi's smile widen. He looked even better, if that were even possible. It lit up his face, and his eyes seemed to sparkle a bit, too.

"I didn't like it either," he admitted. He nodded at her politely as he passed her, and their hands brushed.

Sakura side-stepped to allow them to pass and she clasped the spot where their hands had touched instantly, blushing like an idiot. Deidara rolled his eyes, not ready for her shit, and was about to walk into the kitchen again just to get away from her when she called out his name.

"Deidara,"

The blonde stopped mid-step, exhaled loudly and turned around. "What?" he gave her his best tired look. Seeing her face made him a bit happier, but it didn't quell the unsettling feeling in his body.

"Can I get a hot white chocolate please?"

She sounded normal. She sounded not bitchy. It was quite an eye-opener for Deidara, who had only ever heard her speak like that to her friends when he wasn't at the counter or anywhere near her for that matter. He felt his heart do a cartwheel, but hated himself at the same time because he knew it was Itachi who had opened her up like that, not him.

"Yeah…s-sure," he faltered. He brushed his fringe away from his face and got to work immediately as Sasori came by with flour dusted all over his hands. Deidara literally felt his spine tingle and his cheeks flamed up as he topped the drink off with extra-fluffy foam. He thought about making a hot shape with the chocolate sprinkles using a stencil, but that was kind of creepy. Especially with Sasori around. He capped the takeaway cup and handed it over to her.

"Have fun at school, yeah?" he said, forcing himself to sound friendly and not flirty. He could feel Sasori's eyes burn into his back and wished the redhead would stop fucking looking at him.

"Yeah, okay," a bit of Sakura's original grouchiness returned as she forked over the four dollars seventy for the drink. She glanced up at Deidara piercingly and for once noticed all the emotion in the blonde's eyes. She ignored this and walked out, taking a tentative sip of her white chocolate.

"Okay Sasori," Deidara turned around. "What the fuck is happening?"

It had been a long time since Deidara had actually called Sasori by his name, and it caught the redhead off-guard for a moment. He shrugged.

"_This _is happening,"

The two turned around. Hidan came through the door with an iPad in his hands. He angled the screen so that Deidara and Sasori could see it.

There was a red cloud floating in the middle of the black screen, and beneath it, _Akatsuki. _

_

* * *

_  
"Suigetsu,"

Sasuke ignored the murmurs around him as he approached the guy. The Hōzuki grinned widely and fist-bumped the Uchiha's shoulder.

"Sasuke,"

The whole night, Suigetsu had had a fucking great sleep, because he'd dreamt of all the possibilities he had now that Sasuke was around. Sure, he had yet to confirm whether or not Sasuke was actually offering _genuine _help, but he was pretty certain that he was. Gut feeling.

"Where's Neji?"

Suigetsu shrugged. He wondered what Sasuke was thinking or planning, but knew the Uchiha probably wouldn't tell him.

"Dunno. What are you gonna do?"

Sasuke checked the time on his phone, then handed it over to Suigetsu. The other boy looked at him questioningly.

"Your number," Sasuke said.

"Oh. Right," Suigetsu accepted the device and punched his number in. He glanced to his left and sneered at a girl who was staring at the exchange.

"Call me," Sasuke took his phone back. "When he comes to you,"

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. _Reliable guy, aren'tcha? _

"Sure thing,"

Sasuke looked around them. He spotted Sakura coming in through the main gate with a cup to her lips, trailed by Tenten and Lee. He gave Suigetsu a parting look that said _we'll talk when we talk, _and then headed to the pink-haired girl.

* * *

"Another bashing?" Hiashi said in complete disbelief. Shizune nodded gravely.

"This happens every week, Hiashi-sama," she said softly. Neji glanced at her disinterestedly. Coldly.

His uncle put a hand to his forehead. "I should really consider the withdrawal of the agreement we have with Orochimaru," he said. "As much as it would _damage _our school's image…no. It won't. They would be grateful,"

"I don't know about that…uncle," Neji rose from his seat and walked imposingly over to Hiashi, who eyed him carefully. "That agreement impacted a great deal on our reputation,"

"Neji, it would be absolutely absurd to—,"

"No," Neji said firmly. Shizune flinched a little at the acid in Neji's voice. "This school was my father's. I know he will want Suigetsu to stay...,"


	23. The Other Reluctant Member

**Hello readers! I recently read over my work and I found so many typos, misspellings and missed words—obviously, I'm a little bit lacking in the proof-reading department. I'll do my best to try and actually look over what I write before I submit—lest grammar/ vocabulary Nazis attack me in my sleep. And I'm loving the reviews about whether this will end up ItaSaku or DeiSaku=) Maybe both? Just a thought=) Oh, and I totally just realized, if Akatsuki are a technology company, why the heck are they using an iPad? Oh well. **

Neji left Shizune and his uncle in the room. Both adults stared at him as he stormed out: the intensity of his gaze could send lightning bolts zapping around the room if he really wanted. Students glanced at him admiringly, timidly, as he passed. He ignored them all. It had been a long, long time ago, sure, but Neji would never forgive Hiashi, and the man knew it, which was why he felt obliged to listen to his nephew, even when so many things were at stake. With Suigetsu still around, there was a damning surety that there was always going to be blood on the campus. Hiashi obviously hated it, was totally against it—but his brother's death stayed heavily on his mind, and the fact that it was meant to be _him _lying in the coffin meant that Neji had total, unspoken control over him. He had, after all, led the boy to being parentless.

Neji had used Suigetsu from the moment he knew about Mangetsu's dealings with both ANBU and Akatsuki, which meant the Hōzuki had been under his thumb for a very long time. Why the Hyuuga didn't do the stuff himself was barely a mystery: he didn't want to taint his own reputation and name in the process—who would?—and what's more if the media ever wanted to dig things up, they would only find Suigetsu. Never Neji. He'd made sure to split his personality into two halves—the real Neji Hyuuga, and the Neji Hyuuga that was school valedictorian.

"Neji! Hey!"

Lee bounded up to Neji with impressive speed, threading through the students lingering in the halls. The green-clad boy kept running on the spot even when he caught up to one of his closest friends.

"Are you ready to discuss the athletics carnival?" Lee puffed. The athletics carnival was coming in about three weeks, which was like three days to somebody like Rock Lee. He was so damn enthusiastic for sporting events it bordered on nauseating for Neji, who repeatedly told the guy that the fact he was leading the school academically meant he didn't know anything about the sports side of the school. Sure, he helped in its organized to _some _extent, but—

"I think you're better off asking Coach, Lee,"

"Okay! Mental note! Visit Coach Zabuza's office at lunch!" he whipped out a Sharpie and scribbled the Coach's name in almost unreadable script on the back of his hand. Neji rolled his eyes and kept walking.

"It's in _three weeks,_" he said. He eyed the distinctive, spiked-out-the-back hair of Sasuke Uchiha as the guy reached into his locker and extracted some textbooks. Something churned inside Neji. A warning. A warning of what, Neji didn't know. And, therefore, it didn't bother him.

"But I must begin preparations! I want to be our year level champion!"

Neji didn't even bother commenting that _nobody _could defeat Lee in the athletics carnival. Not him, not Naruto, not _anybody. _He suddenly wondered how Sasuke fared at high jump, and decided the guy looked more suited to long jump.

"Okay, Lee,"

As they neared Sasuke, the Uchiha turned around and his eyes met Neji's like nobody's had ever before—they were challenging. And icy. Neji narrowed his eyes, wondering if it was just his own imagination. Then Lee nudged past him roughly and practically jumped onto Sasuke.

"Sasuke Uchiha! I challenge you to the two hundred metre sprint!"

Sasuke smirked, the previous, hardened look in his eyes disappearing as he absorbed Lee's overzealousness. He'd heard about the athletics carnival being talked about, and there had been posters pep-talking the students.

"Sure,"

"THEN IT'S A DATE!" Lee cried.

"Sasuke," Neji said curtly.

"Neji,"

Neji tried to get Sasuke to bring out that look again, but failed. Whatever game the Uchiha was playing, he was skilled at it. Neji's opinion of him was divided: he liked the guy, he was so like himself, but there was something about him that was…strange.

"Out of the fucking way, kid,"

The three turned around and Lee reddened in determination as Suigetsu Hōzuki pushed through, Juugo in tow. Juugo was holding an orange slip, which was a school leave pass. Neji wondered why he had it.

_Probably a visit to the mental institution for review, _he thought.

"That's right, or I'll beat the living shit out of you and make you eat it,"

Suigetsu passed them and stopped. Behind him, Juugo whimpered a little and tugged on his purple shirt.

"Neji, Sasuke, Lee," he nodded at each of them, a glimmer in his eyes and an imperviously impish grin on his face. "What's up? Gonna take Juugo to the hospital,"

"Why?" Sasuke and Lee said.

"Hmph," Neji grunted. He crossed his arms, not wanting to admit his interest.

"He's gonna pay a visit to his best friend. Does it every month,"

"Does he have to take school off just to do so?"

"Neji, Neji," Suigetsu wagged a finger at him (**Author's Note: for any Pheonix Wright fans out there, he wagged his finger…Miles Edgeworth style. I'm a total Miles Edgeworth fangirl!) **"Must you always question me, huh?"

The Hyuuga ignored him.

"His friend is in an unstable condition," Suigetsu said. He sighed dramatically and shrugged for effect. "The hospital has strict regulations about visiting hours, and Juugo wants to visit when he can. Don'tcha, Juugo?"

"Yes," the orange-haired boy answered. "Can we go now? Please?"

"Sure thing,"

The two left, leaving a parted crowd in their wake.

There was silence for a while before the buzzing of talking arose again.

"Shall we go to class?" Sasuke said after a pause. He turned around and looked at Neji. _If you have one, that is. _

_

* * *

_  
"A…ka…tsuki?" Deidara read out loud. "What is the meaning of this, un?"

He knew all about the speculations surrounding the company, but to be honest he'd never taken interest because he knew just how out of proportion the media could blow things. Now he had a dark feeling in the bottom of his stomach, and he knew it wasn't going to be good. Hidan attacking him…Sasori…actually, maybe that was a totally random, unrelated event that he slept with Sasori—yes, that was possible. But he had a feeling that probably wasn't the case.

"Hah! Sasori, you told him nothing?"

Deidara glanced sideways questioningly at his boss, but all he did was shrug, looking completely indifferent.

"Yeah. You tell him,"  
"Fuck yeah I will. I was going to even if you were going to," Hidan breathed. He seemed barely able to contain his excitement. "Look, shithead, you're in the Akatsuki now. We know all about what you did five years ago,"

_Shit. _Deidara's palms grew clammy. He _knew _it was going to be dug up someday by someone, but—

"And looks like our leader's in need of your bombs," Hidan shrugged. "Can't say I understand a fucking word that comes out of that asshole's mouth, but there you go, eh,"

"So you attacked me, hmm, for the purpose of?"

"I wanted to see what you can do, really," Hidan shrugged. "Nothing special, but then again, you're pretty fucking good for an atheist,"  
"Atheist?"

Sasori sniffed. He'd seen the necklace the night before—Hidan was a Jashinist. The cult had been a big thing when Sasori was a lot younger, but now it wasn't mentioned so much anymore because it was a dying religion. But those who were still in it were insane. Sasori guessed Hidan fit the category.

"That's fucking right," Hidan tapped a finger on the screen of the iPad. "I'm a Jashinist. Like it or not. Anyways…,"

He pressed a few more icons. Then Pein's face came up on the screen. Sasori looked at him. Deidara still didn't know what the hell was happening, so he said "what the fuck?" Jashinist? Atheist? Akatsuki? _What? _

"Leader!" Hidan yelled brashly. It made Deidara's ears hurt. "Should I bring them over to you or what? Wanna talk to them here?"

"No," Pein said. He looked slightly irritated and severe, but it might've been because of his piercings. "Do not bring them here. Advise them of their position…and their obligations," and with that, he hung up the video call, much to do the annoyance of Hidan, who slapped the touch-screen device down on the nearest table so hard Sasori wouldn't be surprised if he broke it.

"Alright, listen up, blondie," the Jashinist rubbed his hands together. "We're in need of more recruits to fight the Jinchuuriki, and—,"

"_Look_," Deidara spat. "I have no fucking idea what you're on about. And I don't want to be in the Akatsuki, I don't think…yeah. So—,"

"You don't have a choice," Sasori interrupted. Deidara glared at him. "You have to join,"

"Huh?"

"Um…yeah," Hidan said. "What he said,"

Sasori didn't know why he suddenly felt like such a big part of Akatsuki, considering he hadn't done anything for it yet, or why he felt the need for Deidara to join. It just made him feel…empowered. And complete. He wanted so badly to grin to himself, but he retained his cool exterior. He couldn't wait to get his hands on his puppets again.

"Why…danna?"

"Heh. You know why," Sasori ran a hand through his hair.

"We know your fucking secret," Hidan bellowed on. "If you don't get your ass in a contract with Akatsuki, you get your ass kicked by the cocksucking police force of this city,"

Deidara knew that wasn't the secret Sasori was referring to, but was chilled to the bone nevertheless. He bit his lip angrily, knowing he had no choice but to join the Akatsuki. Even though he _still _didn't know what was going on.

"First things first," Hidan continued. "Cos I wanna wipe that confusion of your goddamn face. I'm Hidan. I was the partner of Kakuzu,"

Deidara blanched. _Kakuzu? _The serial killer? And Hidan…this guy, standing here, he was the partner…who got discharged just six, seven months earlier? Deidara gulped. This was so messed up, he was wondering if this was all just a bad dream. A very bad dream. A fucked up, very bad dream.

"Peh," the blonde wiped his slightly sweaty forehead with a sleeve, wishing a customer would hurry up and come in so he would be saved from this conversation. "Whatever,"

"Don't 'whatever' me," Hidan grunted. He leaned back against the table with the iPad. "Your position…well you already know your fucking position. Obligations? No idea what the fuck that shit is. But anyways, Deidara…," the Jashinist coughed. "You know all about the shit that surrounds Akatsuki, yeah? Course you do. Everybody knows 'bout it. The thing is, it's _true_," here, he sniggered. "We're one corrupt bunch of sons-of-bitches,"

Sasori rolled his eyes at Hidan's barrage of unnecessary swear words and decided to take over himself.

"Akatsuki deal more than just computers," the redhead said. "They want change. We…as Akatsuki, will be means to the coming of that change…," _it's a fabulous gain if that change comes about…_Sasori licked his lips, craving blood, bones, carnage and rubble.

"So melo-fucking-dramatic as always,"

Deidara was still confused. Maybe it was the whiskey still sloshing around in his blood system, or maybe because he felt utterly helpless in the tyranny of the situation. He looked down at his own hands—the weapons he'd once used to destroy, accidentally—and swallowed hard. He knew he couldn't do anything but accept…even though he knew he wasn't going to like it. Not one bit.


	24. Deidara's New Motive

"Sasuke, how've you been lately? It feels like we haven't talked in ages,"

Sakura pouted and slid into the seat next to him. The events of the morning still lingered in her mind. Seeing Itachi with a colleague made her want him even more.

"I'm fine," he said. He tapped his pen against the desk. "Yourself?"

"I'm good," she said. "Really, really, really good,"

"I wonder why," Tenten teased. She glanced up at the door as Lee came in, and Sasuke could swear he saw her blush a little.

"I hate class," Sakura grumbled. Then she whipped out her school diary and set it in front of Sasuke. "Write your birthday in," she said. "And Itachi's,"

Sasuke uncapped the pen he was tapping and flipped to June. He wrote down Itachi's birthday, then went to July to write his own.

"Thanks," Sakura said hastily. She made a mental note to see if their zodiacs or star signs were compatible later, even though she never really believed in astrology. It would be interesting.

* * *

"Calm down, Juugo, we're almost there,"

Suigetsu kept his firm grip around the guy's bicep just in case he raced off. Then wove through the white hallways until they reached the reception desk for that wing of the hospital. The nurse there recognized them immediately and beamed.

"He's in a better condition today," she said, getting up with her keys jangling. "If he keeps going like this, he might even be allowed to live at home again,"

"That's great news," Suigetsu said politely.

She led them to a room that looked sunnier than usual, and in the bed lay Kimimaro.

"Juugo," the pale, white-haired boy turned his head slowly. He still looked sick to Suigetsu, but he did look better than usual. Suigetsu let go of Juugo and nodded to Kimimaro before going outside again, not wanting to disturb the two.

"How have you been, Juugo?"

"School's been hard," Juugo mumbled in reply. He glanced at all the tubes running into Kimimaro's arm, attached to various packages. He gulped worriedly.

"Has it?" Kimimaro shifted a little in the bed and coughed. "And do not worry about me, Juugo. Those tubes you see are standard procedures to keep me well-fed and well-hydrated,"

Of course, as Juugo's closest friend, Kimimaro knew all about what happened at the school, but it didn't bother him or occur to him that they were being forced. He knew just how unpredictable Juugo was anyway, with his split personalities and all, so when the guy came to him whimpering about how he'd just broken the arm of a student, Kimimaro didn't really listen.

"The nurse says you feel better,"

"Indeed. I do feel as if my body has finally completed the first stage of its replenishment. That is, at least I can see, hear and feel properly now,"

Juugo still wasn't entirely sure what Kimimaro was sick with, but apparently it had gotten to his senses as well.

"What about smell?"

"My olfactory system is good, too. You worry too much, Juugo,"

Silence.

"I strive to be out of hospital soon," Kimimaro continued. He reached over—his movements were still like that of a sick eighty year old's—slow and shaky—and patted Juugo's muscular forearm. "And then maybe I can join you at school…or perhaps college,"  
Juugo smiled sadly. How great it could be if Kimimaro was with him…

Kimimaro coughed a bit. Both of them looked instinctively down at his white bed sheets, but there was no spray of bloody lung tissue like there was back in the days. It made Juugo grin.

And it made Suigetsu, who was standing at the doorway watching, smile too.

* * *

They had all gone back to work. It wasn't like they couldn't, but Deidara really wanted to get out of the place. The café now seemed stifling and wrong, and every time he saw Sasori he shivered. Hidan, not so much. He was still very much in the dark about what was happening—who were the Jinchuuriki, and what change did Akatsuki want?—and he didn't know if he wanted to know. But if they knew about how he'd killed seventy in his bombing of the shopping centre years ago, he had no other chance than to align with them unless he wanted to go to prison. Either way, he was confined, _restricted _somehow. It had been a good two hours since Hidan's little presentation of the Akatsuki and himself, and in that time, Deidara had cleared his mind. He would keep his cool, go along with it. He had nothing to lose if the Akatsuki were so secret…right? He looked at his hand again. The mouth opened and closed, oblivious to the discomfort its owner was feeling. He knew exactly why Pein needed him—his bombs—and Deidara was hoping he didn't have to use them to take lives. Injuring people…yes, he could deal with that. But the guilt he felt when he killed…

He shook his head lightly and accepted the steak and chips Hidan handed him without meeting the Jashinist's eyes. _Jashinist…that's…_

Hidan scoffed at Deidara before returning to the kitchen.

_Can't believe it._

But then again, the scythe had been a peculiar weapon. It was just hard to believe. Deidara wanted nothing more at that moment than—

"Gaara, shouldn't you be at school?"

Gaara smiled thinly. "My school allows me to have recess off-campus," he said. He paused, suddenly looking stern. "I saw your car outside Killer Bee's,"

_Oh damn, _Deidara thought. He ran a hand through his hair. "Um. Yeah. That was me, un,"

"Of course it was. I thought you did not drink,"

"We-ell…," Deidara felt Sasori brush by behind him. "I felt the need,"  
The blonde knew just how sensitive Gaara was towards the topic of the consumption of alcohol—his brother, Kankuro, often came home drunk and Gaara despised it. Not to mention his father was a raging alcoholic back in the day.

"Sorry Gaara," Deidara said. "I just…you know. My life's a mess,"

"Alcohol will not fix that,"

"I know,"

Deidara glanced up at a customer and Gaara moved aside. The Iwa packed up some dishes, took a single order, and came back.

"I can explain later, hm," he said. "Do you want anything?"

"No,"

Gaara left.

* * *

_**After school**_

On seeing Sakura drag Sasuke in the general direction of the café, Hinata nobly made up an excuse about Hiashi wanting her home early and scuttled off. She was going to visit the café later, when Sakura wasn't there.

The first thing Sakura noticed when they went in was just how different Deidara looked. He looked less angry than in the morning, but he looked forlorn and like he had a lot of things troubling his mind. Nevertheless, he was still able to muster a cheeky smile at her. Defiant, she didn't smile back, even though it was kind of contagious. His smile.

"What's wrong with _you _today?" she said. Sasuke glanced at the waiter, who looked at him and smiled a bit.  
"Nothing at all now that you're here," Deidara laughed, but it sounded hollow. Everybody noticed it. "What do you want today?"

The weakness of Deidara's personality today bothered Sakura. She didn't know why, maybe she was just so used to the attention he always gave her. And why the hell was he being so nice? _Euch, don't tell me he likes me. _She crossed one leg over the other.

"I don't know. Surprise me,"

She flashed him a smile. Maybe she could have a little fun with the guy. Pull him around. See how far he would go. He seemed to enjoy playing games, after all.

"Fine," he said. "What about you? Same as your brother? He comes here every morning, hmm,"

Sasuke nodded. He wasn't really feeling thirsty or hungry. "I'll just have water,"

"Not thirsty, hey?" Deidara said nervously. He didn't know why he'd just mentioned Itachi…because…didn't Itachi work with Hotel Taka? And Hotel Taka was—

_No. Can't be. _

The blonde turned away from the table and hid his sudden, worried frown behind a hand. _Itachi's not with the Akatsuki. Itachi's too…_

He glanced back at Sakura, who was looking at him. He looked away, blushing a little, his heart racing away, but he was still thinking about Itachi. And how Sakura had come out of his apartment once…

_If Itachi's in the Akatsuki, I will fucking kill him. _

Because if Itachi was that dangerous—and Sakura willingly jumped into his arms—she could be used. Manipulated.

_I'm thinking too much…yeah. _

He walked into the kitchen, where Sasori was wiping stuff down and Hidan's back was to him as the Jashinist cooked. It looked like such an innocent scene, and yet they were Akatsuki.

"Hidan," Deidara called out. Sasori glanced at him. Hidan turned around.

"Yeah?"

Seeing his face, the Iwa wanted to punch him. Make him eat a bomb and explode him from the inside. But he knew he couldn't.  
"Cranberry salad,"

"Okay," Hidan grunted, moving his attention back to the pan in front of him. Deidara stared at him for a moment, ideas, guesses, worries, doubts, suspicions bouncing around inside his brain.

"So, you thought 'bout the Akatsuki, huh?" the Jashinist breathed with suppressed enthusiastically. He reached for the olive oil. "Not like you have a fucking choice,"

_If Sakura is endangered…then I guess I'll have to go along with it. _He shrugged at Hidan. _Then maybe I can stop Itachi, if he ever plans to hurt her…_

"I don't care," he replied evenly. He took a deep, slow breath and glanced at Sasori as he passed him again. But this time, he didn't let his uneasiness show.

"What's with _him_?" Hidan said as Deidara left. The silvery-haired man got the bottle of balsamic vinegar. Sasori put down the wet cloth in his hands and shrugged.

"I think…he wants to be in Akatsuki,"

Hidan sighed. "Fina-fucking-lly. I wanna get started,"

Sasori smirked. He wanted to get started too.

At the counter, Deidara tried not to make it obvious that his whole body was pulsing with his newly hidden agenda. He took in the sight of Sakura's hair. He knew that on alternating days, she tied it up. He knew about how she used to think she had a crush on some dude named Kiba, but it turned out to be nothing. He knew how she thought she was fat, but couldn't help but eat. He knew exactly how she liked her coffee: hazelnut syrup, whipped cream on top, half a pack of white sugar. She liked her steak well done, because she hated the taste of blood. He knew how one week she tried to be vegetarian but failed. He knew that the thing she hated most were guys with bad hygiene, and how she loved the smell of paper that had just come out from the printer. He knew exactly how stalker-ish he sounded, but he knew a million little things about Sakura just from her visits here.

_Akatsuki...if you're in it, Itachi, you better not hurt Sakura. _


	25. The Akatsuki Begins

"Pein's planning to hold a full-group meeting tonight," Kisame remarked. He was sitting in the comfortable leather chair opposite from Itachi, who was seated behind his monolithic U-shaped desk trying to get all the files in order. He liked things super-organized: it made even Sasuke call him neurotic. Itachi had ignored the comment, because he knew that the way he did things _were _a little over the top, _however _when the time came, he knew that it would pay off. Like, for example, if somebody asked him to access the transcript of the legal dispute between Hotel Taka and Channel Six Media over the loss of their contract through post on the 7th of July 2007, he would have it up within seconds.

"Do we have all members already?" Itachi asked, keeping his voice mellow as he clicked through his documents one last time. He took out the USB and slid it over to his OUT tray. Honestly, he was very much anticipating the first, full meeting with the whole of 'Akatsuki'—he didn't know whether or not to call the group that, considering, collectively, they were just a bunch of people from various places—because he wanted to know exactly what they would be doing to deal with the Jinchuuriki. He knew it was a serious matter, but he didn't understand why they needed so many people. Was five not enough? Kisame had told Itachi that they needed further areas of expertise, but Itachi still didn't get it: how many areas of expertise did you need to settle things the lawful way? This was what made his suspicious. But he knew that now that he was _in, _he couldn't back out.

"Yeah," Kisame grunted. He shifted a little. His huge frame looked squashed in the chair, despite how inviting it looked unoccupied. "Hidan—one of our correspondents—got back to us,"

_Hidan…_

Itachi thought the name sounded somehow familiar, and not because it had been mentioned at the meeting. It felt like he could put the name to a face that he knew of.

"However, for the safety of all of us, apparently we're going to talk through our new holographic system,"

Itachi's eyes shifted from his computer screen to Kisame's face.

"What?"

"We have been working on a new holographic system," Kisame explained. "Holograms. We developed it for meetings where the hiding of an identity is the highest priority,"

"Okay…," _why do we need to hide our identities? _

"We just want to test it out," Kisame continued. He got out of the chair. "See if it works. We're all going to use it at different locations. I'm pretty sure Zetsu is overseas at the moment, so that will help us decide whether or not we need to tweak the system some more before releasing it commercially,"

"Alright,"

Kisame checked his watch. "We're gonna try it tonight. Late. Because not everybody's free at the moment. The Jinchuuriki may be top priority, but the world won't stop for us,"

And with that, he left Itachi's office.

The older Uchiha sighed and leaned back in his chair. He still didn't know what to think of the Akatsuki…he decided that he would know as soon as the late-night meeting came. He hoped his suspicions about the group won't be stirred.

* * *

Sasuke left earlier than Sakura, who'd said she wanted to stay. Sasuke had shrugged at that and left, glancing at Deidara again as he left. The blonde was typing something into the cash register, looking like there was a perpetual storm cloud over his head.

Sakura nervously played around with the last, squashed, tiny cranberry on the plate with her fork. She looked at Deidara, wondering why she was making the slightly stupid decision to stay back and ask him what was wrong. Maybe it was because at some point in time during the afternoon, she'd remembered that one day when she came to the café alone and she looked like she was on the verge of tears, he'd asked her how she was and even gave her a free drink. Or maybe it was for Hinata. Sakura didn't know. She ignored her nerves and slid out of her seat. She walked over to the counter, reaching into her wallet and getting out a ten dollar note. Deidara looked up as she neared, but he didn't smile as wide as he usually did.

"Sasuke paid," he said. "For you, I mean,"

"He…did?"

"Yeah. You were looking at your phone,"

An awkward silence passed between them.

"I guess I'd better pay him back, then," Sakura's thoughts immediately sprung to Itachi, since she now officially had an excuse to visit them again. But on thinking about Itachi, and being in front of Deidara, there was something else _weird _writhing inside her.

"So you better go home now, yeah?" Deidara checked the cuffs of his shirt to see if they had collected any gunk during the time he'd been working. "Do your homework. Watch TV, hm,"

Sakura gnawed on her lower lip. Seeing Deidara being _nice _made her feel somehow…sad. Like she missed how he used to act around her.

"Deidara…what's wrong?"

"Eh?" Deidara looked up at her. There wasn't really anything in his face to suggest that he was forcing the niceness, but Sakura knew that it was a mask. How he'd acted before…that was serious. And now he was happy again? As if she would believe that. "Nothing's wrong. I told you,"

"Hinata's worried," Sakura answered readily. It was a bit of a lie. _She _was worried.

Deidara chuckled. "Tell her not to worry, yeah…nothing to worry about with me, ever,"

He looked at her, scrutinizing her face. He leaned in a bit, his eyes focused on her lips, and for a moment Sakura thought he was going to kiss her. But his eyes travelled back up to meet her own green ones, and a corner of his mouth was turned up in a smile.

"See you tomorrow, Sakura,"

Sakura walked out, the blare of traffic hitting her as the door opened. The sky had darkened and it was starting to spit a little. She knew Itachi probably wouldn't be home yet, so it wasn't worth going back to their penthouse. The little talk she'd just had with Deidara had made her shiver a little—she felt nervous. She tried to think of something else, but she couldn't think of anything _but _Deidara. The way he'd looked at her. He had looked so…sad, somehow. She shook her head lightly and stopped, waiting for the pedestrian crossing light to turn green. _Itachi. I like Itachi. _At the thought of the older boy, she blushed a little and her body heated up. The Uchiha still made her feel like jelly. And she couldn't wait to visit him again. The talk about school, and how he'd told her he didn't like mathematics either was a small exchange but it made her feel even more attracted to the guy. It was a cute titbit of knowledge.

* * *

_**Time: 11:30 pm**_

"Gentlemen,"

The hologram of Pein moved a little. Itachi could see what Kisame meant by covering ones identity: the holograms only showed the silhouette of the person. The only clear feature was their eyes, and Itachi could recognize Pein's eyes anywhere. The numerous rings that surrounded his pupil were hypnotic.

"We are still waiting for four others. Including Zetsu," Konan said. Even though she, Itachi and Kisame were in the same building, they were standing in separate rooms. Itachi looked at the small device attached to the back of his hand and wondered how such a little thing could generate _his _hologram while detecting all the other's as well. Not to mention produce them in front of his. It was uncanny.

"Tobi is here," Konan said, right before the masked-man's form buzzed into view.

"Hey, guys!" Tobi crowed. "This is so cool, isn't it?"

"…Yes," Kisame grunted.

"I wonder how the others are going," Pein said. "I hope they're not having a hard time trying to connect,"

"The system is perfect,"

Everyone looked to Zetsu, who had just appeared. "We refined it so many times after countless trials. I am certain it's perfect,"

"Nothing…nobody can be perfect," Pein said. "But we can try to be,"

Suddenly, three people appeared. Itachi's eyes widened for a moment when one of the holograms caught his eye. The hair…the eyes. It couldn't be…

"Hello, Itachi," Deidara said. "Are you surprised to see me?"


	26. What Mangetsu Knows

_Yeah…you must be well surprised. _Deidara knew what he was thinking was stupid, because it wasn't like he knew Itachi was evil and was definitely going to use Sakura, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. Besides, if the guy was helping the Akatsuki out, he had to have a considerable amount of malevolence, right? And that other figure…that was definitely Konan. Which did not surprise Deidara—he'd prepared himself for this. She was, after all, the manager of Hotel Taka. And Hotel Taka was practically Akatsuki's sister company for unknown reasons. Even so, it was still kind of creepy and weird, since he would never have her down as a criminal. He nodded at her, and she nodded back, no words exchanged, because no words were needed.

Deidara looked at the device on the back of his hand. Sasori was leaning back onto the counter next to him, his arms crossed, looking as doll-like as ever. Hidan was seated in a chair.

Itachi didn't know what to think. He was pretty sure the guy next to Deidara was Sasori, the café's owner: it was total mindfuck. _Deidara, what are you doing here? _He didn't know _what _exactly Deidara or Sasori could offer to the Jinchuuriki issue—as far as Itachi knew, Deidara was a waiter and Sasori made cakes.

_That's right…that is only as far as _I _know…_and to be honest, Itachi didn't know that much about Deidara, really, apart from his occupation. He could have had severed limbs hidden in his closet and Itachi wouldn't ever know.

"Now that we are all present, the time is nigh for us to begin," Pein said. "The Jinchuuriki. Konan?"

"The people that the Jinchuuriki consist of are surprising," Konan began. As the only woman in the group, she was easiest to identify. "Their youngest…is fifteen years old,"

"Fifteen?" Hidan repeated. "What the fuck?"

"That poor lad," Tobi sighed in mock dismay. "Being dragged into—,"  
"Silence," black Zetsu growled. "Shut up, everyone,"

"Two fifteen year olds," Konan continued. "The others are older. However, our information becomes limited as the ages climb higher—for example, the old man we only know as Sokou does not live in the one location. Yet that's all we know,"

"We know a lot about the fifteen year olds, don't we?" white Zetsu purred. "They are, after all, right here in this city,"

Itachi felt the dark feeling inside him grow. _Fifteen…_that was how old Sasuke was. By the way it sounded, _any_ of Sasuke's classmates could be the Jinchuuriki. But the way the Akatsuki made it sound…this was definitely more than a business negotiation.

"Yes…," Pein said. Itachi felt the CEO's eyes on him. "Itachi, I think your brother will know one of them. However, we need not deal with him just yet. Tonight, we are just going to hear what exactly is going to happen,"

"We shall begin our proceedings civilly," Konan continued. "As we did with Yagura…,"

"Yagura was the first of the Jinchuuriki we contacted," Pein said. "He was very easy to reach, very easy to locate. However, instead of relinquishing the information of who their leader was, he slit his own throat,"

"Hmmm," Deidara said. He had the same feelings as Itachi did, standing there, but of course neither of them knew that. Neither of them wanted to let it show. The dealings they had right here…Deidara knew they weren't going to be without blood. And he was pretty sure Yagura didn't slit his own throat: it _had _to be murder. So why were they covering it up? Wasn't everyone here aware of what the Akatsuki was…?

"It seems the Jinchuuriki are darker than we originally thought,"

Sasori scoffed quietly, but nobody paid him any special attention.

"It doesn't fucking matter how 'dark' they are," Hidan bellowed. "They're all gonna fucking—,"

"Hidan," Pein said firmly.

…._die, _Sasori thought. His fingers twitched, aching to control the chakra threads again.

"The Jinchuuriki," Deidara spoke up. "Who exactly are they, hmm?"

"Hidan, did you not tell them anything?" Pein said. Hidan shrugged sheepishly and said nothing. The CEO looked deep in thought for a moment, and for a split second his eyes flickered to Itachi. Deidara raised an eyebrow.

"Hidan, you _will _tell them later. In your own time,"

"Fine," the Jashinist harrumphed.

_I guess he doesn't wanna waste time…un. _

"We will not meet very much after this. You will each be assigned to a member of the Jinchuuriki, and we suggest a partner system, in case they flee. You will receive orders through the phone given to you,"

"In the event of another suicide…," Pein said, sounding not the least bit grave or remorseful. "…you will try as soon as practically possible to transport the body back to the Akatsuki building,"

"Fuck yeah," Hidan said. But other than that, nobody said anything. Deidara shivered a little despite himself, despite his brave front—he did _not _want to see blood on his hands again. Next to him, Sasori smiled a bit.

Itachi's mouth was a grim line. The Akatsuki were _definitely _bad news. He just didn't know what to make of it at the moment. What should he do…?_ No. I must get concrete information before I think of ways out. _

"Why?"

Everyone turned to face Itachi.

"Because…," Pein replied slowly. "We need to hide our trail,"

"Leaving their corpse where it is, letting it be discovered by people, is that not just as conspicuous as making them missing persons?"

"No. Because if they are missing, they cannot be confirmed dead. Presumed; yes. Confirmed; no,"

Pein's hologram moved a little as he played with the device. "If people do dig deep enough, they will find all the missing are only attached by one thing: the Jinchuuriki. And if they are missing, they may assume that they have merely gone into hiding,"

Despite the explanation, Itachi still found it extremely, extremely, _extremely _wrong that they had to bring back the bodies should there be any. Itachi hoped he would not come to that—hell, he wouldn't have the guts to carry a dead body. Why couldn't they just leave it where it was? One body wouldn't hurt, would it? This all sounded like a sick joke. He gazed at Deidara. If it wasn't for the damn holograms, maybe he could decipher something about the blonde. Maybe he would ask him later…tomorrow morning.

"It is late," Pein said. "We shall end this meeting tonight. Always be prepared to work on your orders when they come,"

Pein removed the device from his hand and he disappeared. Zetsu went next. Itachi removed his own, and the whole room emptied out again, free of the holograms. He set the small thing on his desk.

"Hmph," Deidara pocketed the device. "Hidan, tell us,"

"Getting there," the Jashinist grunted. "Don't fucking know why Pein wouldn't let me just _TALK. _If you ask me, he had some shit to hide,"

Deidara had that feeling exactly.

"Anyways, the Jinchuuriki are part of our master plan," Hidan said. He yawned loudly and stretched. "Pein's master plan, apparently, to create a utopia. If you ask me, he's all bullshit. I'd just destroy the city if I were him. As if try to 'reconstruct society' as he says,"

Deidara ignored the uneasy feeling inside him.

"The Jinchuuriki. We need to extract someshit from inside them that'll give Pein ultimate power. Nobody can refuse him if he has the stuff. And it's all fucking obvious from there, ain't it?"

"I always thought Jinchuuriki was just a name," Sasori said quietly. "I did not take it literally,"

"Well take it literally from now on," Hidan grunted.

"Jinchuuriki? Seriously?" Deidara said. "We want the Bijuu?"

"What do you think?" the Jashinist snapped, obviously wanting to sleep.

_But the Bijuu have been said to be lost forever...not lost in the literal sense, but that nobody knows who the hosts are anymore…_Deidara swallowed. _The Akatsuki…pretty good, aren't they, hm. _

_So that's why Pein wants the bodies. _

"I'm fucking going home," Hidan said. "I still haven't even done my prayers and shit. Fucking leader and his late meetings," he left the café with a flippant wave to Sasori and Deidara.

And with that, things were awkward once more. Well, for Deidara anyway. He still couldn't believe he'd let Sasori in his _bed. _It almost made him swear off drinking for the rest of his life.

"What happened yesterday, hm? What'd I do?"

Sasori didn't look at him.

"You were drunk," the redhead said again. "And I was slightly tipsy,"

"We're both _men_,"

"That is not a problem," Sasori replied. He turned a bit to face Deidara. "Surely, you knew the effects of alcohol,"

_Well, duh. _Deidara brushed his fringe aside, trying not to let the whole situation bother him.

"I was about to leave," Sasori continued. "But you stopped me from doing so,"

As the words left the redhead's lips, he smiled a bit.

_Oh, fuck my life._

"Who knew you were so…active. In bed," and with that, Sasori turned and left, leaving Deidara to shut the whole café down. The blonde cursed himself over and over underneath his breath. He couldn't _imagine _what had happened now.

_Screw it. It's over. _

He reached behind the counter and flicked the master light switch that turned of all the lights. He was enveloped in darkness. He walked to the windows and pulled down the blinds. He was locking up the front door when Sasori's car eased out of the car park and zoomed out of sight.

* * *

Itachi went home to a penthouse that was still up and running. He went into the living room and found Sasuke watching TV with a blank, uninterested expression. It was a black and white film.

His younger brother glanced at him as he came in, but said nothing.

"Hey," Itachi said. He looked at the clock. It was ten past twelve.

"You're not going to sleep?"

"I'm not sleepy,"

Unlike Itachi who slept easily, Sasuke often had long bouts of insomnia, and there was really nothing anybody could do about it.

"Are you hungry?"

"No. I cooked dinner,"

Itachi said nothing.

"How was work?"  
Itachi looked at Sasuke again, but his brother looked as concerned about the answer to the question as if he'd just asked Itachi about the weather. That is, he looked like he didn't really care.

Work was definitely eventful, but Itachi was too bothered by the news of the Jinchuuriki to tell Sasuke about it.

"It was okay,"

Sasuke thought for a moment about the Akatsuki and ANBU, and the fact that Mangetsu was a snitch.

"Did you meet the Akatsuki?"

Itachi's heart seemed to stop for a moment.

"Yes," he answered after a long pause. Sasuke turned around to look at him questioningly.

"I was merely introduced to them," Itachi said. "I don't know if I'm working with them,"  
"I see,"

Sasuke turned to watch TV again. His laptop was open next to him, but nobody interesting was online. Kiba, Neji, and a couple of other people from his old school were still on, but he didn't want to talk to them. As Itachi got himself a cup of juice, something came up on the laptop screen. Sasuke looked at it.

Juugo_2 wants to add you

_Juugo? _

He clicked 'accept'. Juugo came online, but didn't talk to Sasuke. The younger Uchiha sighed. He really needed a hobby.

* * *

"Mangetsu, are you okay?"

Suigetsu walked into his older brother's room. Mangetsu was writing something in a book. Suigetsu hoped it wasn't more notes on ANBU to be submitted to Akatsuki. Suigetsu had had enough of his brother being in such a precarious position.

"I'm fine,"

Mangetsu shut the book he was writing in and looked his brother up and down. Suigetsu seemed better these days.

"What about you?"

Suigetsu thought about this for a while: Kimimaro was almost healthy enough to leave hospital, which made Juugo extremely happy. The happiness was infectious. Neji could possibly be kept under wraps by Sasuke, which meant Suigetsu didn't have to beat people up anymore. He smiled.

"Yeah. I'm pretty good,"

A pause.

"Mangetsu, are you…?"

"_No,_"

The older Hōzuki stood up and looked at Suigetsu up and down. Something flashed in his eyes.

"Stay out of this, Suigetsu,"

"Why do you even—,"

"Enough," Mangetsu held up a hand. "Leave now,"

He turned away, signifying the definite end to their conversation. Suigetsu left, his face clouded with emotion.

Mangetsu rubbed the back of his neck apologetically, even though Suigetsu was gone. He knew that his little brother hated his involvement because he was worried about the ANBU uncovering his hidden agenda, but Mangetsu wouldn't worry if he was him. He was very careful. And the Akatsuki were trustworthy enough. He bent over and opened his notebook to the page he'd been writing on.

_For many years, the ANBU have been tainting their own name for the very purpose of masking the true purpose of their existence: that is, to protect and conceal the identities of the Jinchuuriki and their respective tailed beasts. They have been likened to the mafia, and this correlation has some basis. The ANBU, although ultimately controlled by the Hokage, have dealings with the mafia, however unstable and suspicious the gang is. That is because the ANBU do not want to be seen as guardians of a secret. They offer the mafia some freedom in what they do to some extent as long as they allow their name to be synonymized with the ANBU. This is all under a very strict oath of secrecy. And, of course, the ANBU pay the mafia generous amounts of money. The ANBU do not want to break the law themselves, so they use the mafia to do so, while having their names in it. They are incriminating themselves as criminals. They are to some extent for working with the mafia, but they are not the ones with blood on their hands. At least not directly. _

_The ANBU recruits all follow an extremely strict code that is daily imposed on them: any leak of information, any at all, will rouse suspicion in anybody. Heavy interrogations would be performed, and lives may even be taken in the process. Fortunately, they do not suspect me at all. They have not noticed that I have been corresponding with you, the Akatsuki. They are meticulous in their surveillances over their members, but I am more so._

_So Yagura has been captured. For years, he has been hostile towards the ANBU guardians they are offered to him, and they eventually relented, under the impression it would only make things worse if they stirred him up. But that has allowed the Akatsuki to reach him. _

_Since the discharge of Hidan from prison, however, they have increased their watch over Kyuubi and Shukaku. I suggest dealing with these two later. _


	27. The Sharingan

**Author's Note: If only Deidara and Itachi didn't suspect each other of being evil, things would be so much easier. SIGH.**

_**Saturday morning**_

Sakura waited for the elevator, clutching her bag strap nervously. She was at Itachi and Sasuke's penthouse, wanting to pay Sasuke back for the other time, but really to see Itachi. She hoped he didn't work weekends, and had called Sasuke in advance in a sort of desperate bid to gauge whether or not Itachi was home by the amount of background noise. She was pretty sure she heard some clinking and the coffee machine running, and that was what made her come.

The elevator arrived and she stepped in. She'd vowed to herself to be more confident about the whole thing, but wasn't it natural to feel nervous around the person you liked? She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to steady her breaths, calming herself. She didn't know how exactly she would proceed—maybe she could get herself invited to join their lunch. That would really be good.

Sasuke was waiting for her. He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on when he saw her and led her to the Uchiha penthouse, even though she already knew the way from her previous trip here.

"Is Itachi home?" she asked as Sasuke pushed open the front door, which he'd left ajar. She tried to make it sound like she was only asking in case she woke him up with her loud voice.

"Yeah," Sasuke answered. He went into the kitchen and picked up a spoon. He'd been eating cereal, it seemed. He motioned for her to sit on the stool opposite him, and she did. She reached into her wallet and slid a five dollar note across the countertop. Sasuke glanced at it with a hint of disinterest.

"Thanks,"

Sakura looked around the penthouse once more, admiring its neatness, and how it exuded cool at the same time. She could hear someone moving around upstairs, and her heart thudded at a million miles an hour.

"What are you planning to do today? "she asked. Sasuke picked up his bowl in both hands and drank the milk.

"Nothing," he said. He hadn't slept the night before, and had done everything that needed to be done for school in the silent hours of 2 am to 4 am, which freed up his whole weekend. He considered finding Neji, Suigetsu or Juugo, but decided that would probably only occupy him for an hour. Neji hadn't made any new moves yet, so that meant he had no obligations to help Suigetsu at the moment. It was slightly disappointing, because the Uchiha was itching to get started.

"Neither, but I really want to find a job,"

Sasuke nodded just as Sakura detected someone walking down the stairs. She tried to look like she was completely absorbed in watching Sasuke wash his bowl as Itachi emerged, dressed casually. She glanced at him and smiled briefly.

"Good morning," she chirped. She fixed her headband absentmindedly, hoping she looked okay. "I'm just here to pay Sasuke back,"

Itachi yawned a little and nodded at the same time. He looked supremely adorable, and Sakura wanted to hug him. "How was your maths class?" he asked her, smiling, walking over to the coffee machine and pouring himself a cup. He drank a bit, his eyes on her, waiting for her answer.

"It was alright," she felt tickled by the fact he was asking her about it, because if he wasn't a bit interested in her, he wouldn't remember, right? Or maybe he was just being polite. But the way he smiled, and the way he looked at her—it _had _to mean something. Maybe that kiss on the cheek did have an impact.

To Itachi, it actually kind of did. Yes, Sakura was _Sasuke's _age and it was totally awkward to consider, well, dating someone who was in high school, but…come on. Age wasn't a barrier. Was it? Or he could just wait until she graduated.

_I don't even know if I'm truly interested , _Itachi berated himself, slightly disgruntled by his thoughts. _Maybe I'm just letting my thoughts get ahead of me. _After all, he still didn't know if that kiss had been intentional.  
"How was work?" she asked him back, her green eyes friendly.

_I really have to assess if I really like her. _Itachi didn't want to lead a girl on. Especially one that was younger.

"It was eventful," he said. "I was introduced to the Akatsuki,"

Sasuke passed between them for a moment and walked into the living room.

"Really? What happened?"

Itachi refilled his cup of coffee. "Well, we…tried out a new development of theirs. It was interesting,"

"That's awesome,"

Sakura looked over her shoulder, feigning interest in where Sasuke was.

"He's in the living room," Itachi said. He put down his cup. _Maybe I should just ask. _

"Sakura…,"

"Yeah?" the pink-haired girl turned to face him again, and blushed immediately when she saw how intensely he was looking at her. "What is it?"

Itachi watched her. He could definitely detect the blush, but…that wasn't conclusive.

_No. I shouldn't do this. Not now…not with Akatsuki._

"Nothing," he finally managed. "Let's go find Sasuke,"

* * *

After a while of watching television and making several efforts to chat, Itachi suggested that they grab lunch. And for the very reason that he wanted to ask Deidara a few questions, he wanted to go the café instead of a restaurant. Sasuke rolled his eyes because the café was too often frequented it felt redundant. He didn't understand the hype around it, but relented because he was hungry enough to have anything.

_Deidara….tell me what you really are. _Itachi started the car up. Sasuke sat in the front passenger seat, and Sakura got in the back, sitting directly behind Sasuke. _Why are you involved in the Akatsuki? _Sure, Deidara and Konan were friends, but…

_If the Akatsuki are truly innocent of any corruption, any illegal actions, then Deidara has nothing to hide. _The way Deidara had greeted him at the meeting…that had sounded contemptuous. And Itachi wanted to know why.

On the way there, Sakura couldn't help but recall she and Deidara's talk the day before when he told her that Sasuke had paid: the way he spoke, it sounded gentle and soft, unlike the usual cockiness he reserved for her. She was starting to think maybe he was developing a crush on her, and the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed to become. It made her uncomfortable in a good way and also in a bad way: she liked Itachi, after all, and even though it was Deidara, she didn't want to just push his feelings away like they were nothing. The good thing was…well, it always felt good when someone liked you. It was a good thing Hinata had such an obvious crush on him, which meant that if it came to the blonde asking her out, she could reject him on the basis of respecting her friend's feelings.

But…

There was something about Deidara.

And Sakura couldn't explain it, but being cut down by his harsh words, then seeing him all mild and friendly…it had opened up something in her. Like she now had a soft spot for him, which she didn't want to admit, because of how openly she expressed distaste for the guy time and time again. If she recalled correctly, once Naruto had made a joke about her and Deidara, and how they had lover's squabbles. Kiba had further commented that when two people fight a lot and claim to hate each other, they end up as a perfect match. She also remembered losing her cool completely and whacking Naruto over the head.

_It can't be true, _she thought grumpily, watching the streets zoom past as Itachi drove down the road. _That would be so stupid. _

Deidara yawned as Sai took over. The guy came here on weekends full-time, which made the blonde extremely grateful. After yesterday night's events, he'd slept heavily, and didn't really feel like working. Even Hidan was up and running without complaining, which kind of made him feel bad, if it wasn't for the fact that the Jashinist acted like he was on steroids all the time. Maybe he was.

When the bell over the door jangled, Deidara didn't bother looking up. He just walked into the kitchen, until he heard Sakura's voice.

"Hey, you're Sai, right?"

Deidara froze. But then he continued on into the kitchen because he didn't want to make it seem obvious he was interested in her. Sasori was sitting around doing nothing, and Hidan had just finished his most recent order and pushed past Deidara with the plate in his hands.

"I need a fucking steak after this," he muttered as he walked out.

Itachi eyed the man who just came out. He looked vaguely familiar, but the Uchiha couldn't place where he'd seen him before. Hidan, on the other hand, knew exactly who it was that was standing there, and leered at him a little.

"Yes, I am," Sai replied. "You are…?"  
"I'm Ino's friend!" Sakura exclaimed. Ino had mentioned this boy before, and how she _might've _had a thing for him. It excited Sakura, because she'd never really approved of Shikamaru as an appropriate long-term boyfriend. Sure, it was kind of mean, since she _was _a friend of his as well, but come on, Shikamaru Nara was renowned for being lazy almost as much as he was renowned for being a quick thinker. And a new boy was _always _exciting. "She talked about you,"

"Oh, really?" Sai blushed a little, which was highly obvious on his otherwise ghost-white features. "What did she say about me?"

"She said you walk her school all the time," Sakura steamrolled ahead. It was kind of fun talking to another guy in front of Itachi, especially one her own age. "Do you like her, Sai?" she teased.

Sai smiled a little. "Yes, I like her very much. As a friend,"

"_Sure_," Sakura winked. "Where's…um, Deidara?"

"Deidara?" Sai looked over his shoulder. "He was here a second ago. But he is inside right now,"

"Oh," Sakura's face fell a bit. "Um, anyway, let's grab a seat, guys,"  
Sakura recognized Hidan. The man intimidated her. He looked so…

"Hey," he said when he saw her. "You're back,"

Hidan glanced at Itachi, wondering if the Uchiha could recognize him now that he gave away his voice.

Itachi, yes, recognized his voice.

_How can there be so many coincidences? _Three _Akatsuki members in the one café? Or maybe…it was a "coincidence" created by the Akatsuki. Either way…these three…what's with them all?_

_This one is…he's that loud one that keeps swearing…Hidan. _

"I see you recognize me, eh?" Hidan tucked a loose strand of his silvery hair behind an ear. His face was clean-shaven and he smelled like cologne and something else.

"Not hard, considering I talk all the time. Should really work on that,"

Hidan walked back towards the kitchen, leaving Itachi to his myriad of thoughts. The two others at the table, Sasuke and Sakura, barely paid the exchange of words between Itachi and Hidan any attention. They were both looking at the new menu, trying to figure out what to eat.

As Hidan walked back into the kitchen, Deidara was standing right by the doorframe. It startled Hidan a little bit.

"What the fuck are you doing, just standing there?"

Deidara glanced out. He saw Itachi and his eyes clouded over. "None of your business, really, hmmm,"

"Yeah. Itachi," Hidan followed Deidara's gaze. "Wonder what he's got,"

At that moment, Sasori shoved a loaded tray in Deidara's arms and looked at him pointedly: _I don't pay you for standing there. _The blonde sighed and walked back outside, feeling Itachi and Sakura's eyes on him as soon as he emerged. He replaced a tray of sandwiches.

"Does Sasori want me inside?" Sai asked. Deidara glanced at him and handed him the empty tray.

"I don't know," the blonde said shortly. "But go anyway; I'll take care of things out here, un,"

He walked over to Itachi's table with mixed emotions: suspicions of the Uchiha, and the want to get Sakura's attention.

"Hey guys," he forced a smile on his face, even though he was still tired. Itachi looked at him, and Deidara knew immediately the guy had many probing questions he wanted to ask. His younger brother looked the same as he always did—blank—and Sakura was running her eyes up and down him.

"We're all getting closer, aren't we?" Deidara couldn't hide the jealous edge to his voice as much as he wanted, but he supposed it was better that way—at least he could say that he'd tried to warn Itachi about staying off his turf.

"Um…yeah, sure," Sakura said. They ordered, and Deidara walked away to tell Hidan. This was when Itachi got up and waited for him at the counter.

"I need to ask him something," was all the explanation he gave the younger two. They both shrugged.

"Sasssukkkee," Sakura whined as Itachi left the table. "Help me with my biology assignment!"

Deidara was unsurprised to see Itachi standing there, waiting for him. It even made him smile genuinely—just a bit. It was amusing to see how worked up it would make the Uchiha to know that Deidara was also in the Akatsuki.

"Itachi, h—,"

"Stop," Itachi interrupted calmly. "Tell me why,"

"Why?" Deidara repeated. He stroked his chin. "Hmmmm…why do you sound so suspicious? It's just the Akatsuki,"

"I know full well it's not all it seems to be,"

"What does it seem to be?" Deidara countered.

Itachi said nothing.

_The Jinchuuriki…the body thing…_

…_but I can't be sure._

"Exactly,"

"They said they needed more members for their expertise. What do you have to…offer them?"

"I know how to do business," Deidara replied, grinning. "Is that hard to believe, un?"

Sakura didn't know why, but at that moment, she looked over at Deidara and Itachi and couldn't help but be mesmerized by Deidara's grin. It wasn't the same as those flirtatious and teasing ones he gave her, but it looked…devilish. And hot.

She ripped her gaze away from him. _This is so stupid. _She patted her cheek to make sure she wasn't flaming up…blushing.

"No," Itachi answered. He gazed at Deidara levelly. He knew his gaze was piercing, yet the blonde did not flinch. Deidara looked into his eyes, those eyes that were fringed with long lashes. And it started so slowly it could have been his imagination, but redness seeped into Itachi's eyes, and three black, obscure tear-drop shapes circled around his pupil. It made Deidara's eyes widen in shock for a split second, but then it disappeared. And Itachi just stood there, plain, simple.

"But what is hard to believe is…that your 'business' skills are the only thing they hired you for,"

Itachi turned away and walked back to his table. Deidara's eyes burned into his back. Sakura glanced at the waiter, but he didn't look back at her.

That was because he was too preoccupied by what he'd just seen.

The Sharingan.


	28. Dinner Date

The rest of the time they were at the café, no unnecessary words were exchanged between Deidara and Itachi, who kind of regretted showing the waiter his Sharingan. He had forced himself to use them in emergencies only, and that back there was definitely not an emergency. But something deep inside him wanted to warn Deidara, and it just came out. He put a hand over his eye and watched as Deidara packed up a table with Sai, looking like he always did. After they'd finished lunch, and Deidara was calculating the total of their order, the blonde asked Sakura to stay behind.

"Why?" Sakura asked with a touch of suspiciousness. She was still reproachful towards the guy because of how they'd first become acquainted, but part of her _hoped _for something different. What exactly that was, she didn't know.

"Just because, hm. I don't think it'll be a waste of your clearly precious time," he said with slight sarcasm.

As the words left his mouth, he glanced at Itachi. The Uchiha tried to gauge the amount of mean intention in the blonde's words, but surprisingly the blonde was keeping a cool demeanour. Itachi always had him down as the eruptive type, easily provoked, but clearly there was something different about him now.

"Fine," Sakura said, a little grumpy because she wanted to hang out more with Itachi. And Sasuke, of course, but mainly Itachi. She glanced at them, wondering if they were going to say they would wait for her. Itachi took one look at her and spoke exactly what was on her mind.

"We'll wait for you outside," he said. Sakura nodded and after Deidara gave Itachi the change—his fingers brushing against the Uchiha's palm—Sasuke followed his brother out.

"So…what do you want?" Sakura rubbed her arms, slightly cold, glancing out at Itachi. Deidara did too, and licked his lips.

"Do you like him?"

"What?" Sakura's head snapped around and she glared at Deidara with a mixture of shyness and irritation. Sure, she didn't really hide it well, but could he hold down on the bluntness?

"I know you do. He's pretty cool…yeah. But he's too old,"

"So?" Sakura huffed. Sure, she appeared annoyed on the outside, but on the inside, she felt kind of warm and fuzzy. "It's only five years,"

"Only?" Deidara repeated. His lower lip quivered just a little because he was still jealous. He really wanted her for himself, and no matter how stubborn she was, he couldn't help but like her. He knew now what people meant when they couldn't explain their unconditional love for somebody: there wasn't just a single aspect you could name about someone. They always say "there's just something about them". Accordingly, despite Sakura's unreasonableness and stubbornness, there was…_just something about her _that kept pulling Deidara back.

"Listen," Deidara forced himself to continue before he was too consumed by the resentment he had for Itachi that would then make him blubber like an idiot. He stamped down his inner nerves. "You want to grab dinner with me later?"

The question hung in the air for a moment before it finally registered in Sakura's head that Deidara had just _asked her out. _Well, not exactly in the girlfriend-boyfriend sense, but it was highly suggestive. Sure, it could have very well been an innocent thing, like Deidara wanted to ask her for advice on what present he should give his hypothetical long-distance girlfriend or something. Or maybe he was seeking a confidante. But on first glance, it just screamed _I'm interested in you in _that _way. _

"Um…,"

The old her would've said _no, _but that grin she saw before when Deidara was talking to Itachi was just…she swallowed hard. That had really been a sight to see. Not to mention yesterday afternoon—that had really changed her mind about him, even though nothing really significant happened. It was just how _vulnerable _and _nice _he looked.

She looked out at Itachi, whose back was to her. She was full of mixed emotions, and she didn't know which to trust: she was at a fork in the road and she didn't know which to take.

_I like Itachi because he's…he's intelligent. He's considerate, thoughtful, and cute. So cute. _

_And Deidara, he's just..._

She could find no words for Deidara.

_Dammit. _

Deidara had asked girls out before, but none of that actually compared to _this. _For once, his confidence was quashed prematurely because of the fact that Sakura had a thing for Itachi. Another guy. With the other girls, he had no doubt they would accept his offer.

_Say yes. Just see where it goes. _

"Yeah, okay,"

Deidara's heart did a little leap and he couldn't stop the happy grin that crept across his face. It made all his previous tiredness and stress ebb away, and it was clear to Sakura it meant a lot to him to have her accept. She couldn't but smile a little too.

"That's that then," Deidara said. He ignored the fact that Sasori was probably overhearing their conversation. As humiliating to him it was that he'd been drunk enough to want to do things with Sasori, he was kind of over it.

"Where?" Sakura asked.

"The Yamanaka," Deidara answered, referring to the huge retail complex that Ino's dad, Inoichi, owned. It was actually called the Yamanaka Shopping Mall, but that was such a mouthful people just shortened it to the first two words. "I'll treat you to something nice there, yeah?"

He moved aside as Sai came through, carrying two plates of linguine.

"So meet me at there at five," the Iwa leaned forward and grinned. His eyes, rather than glimmering with the smug flirtatiousness Sakura thought it would have, were friendly, but mostly unreadable. "Or you want me to pick you up?"

"You can get off at five?"

"Ha. Yeah," he straightened up again. "Sai will cover for me, I think, and danna won't be baking, so he can help too," he feigned a yawn. "Unless you wanna help me here instead of grabbing some nice dessert at the Yamanaka,"

Actually, it didn't sound so bad to Sakura. The warm fuzzy feeling inside her increased tenfold as she tried to imagine what it would be like helping Deidara serve people, and how—

_Wait. Why am I thinking like this? I don't…can't…like him. _

_That's right. I don't like him, _Sakura thought defiantly.

"I'd rather go have a fondue," she said, trying to make it sound like a tease to cover up her obvious state of self-denial. The highest levels of the Yamanaka were reserved for Michelin five-star restaurants where a basket of bread cost thirteen dollars. Sakura had only ever been to one of them once, and it had looked so glamorous she wanted to go again. But she never got the chance to. The fondue she was referring to was the famous one made in the restaurant on level seven, and one that was _expensive. _She actually intended for it to be a kind of test, to see if Deidara actually wanted her enough to get her a thirty six dollar fondue...not to mention a main course meal. And a drink.

And a basket of bread.

"Sure," Deidara said. "No problem. Should I pick you up then, un?"

"No, that's okay. I'll meet you at the main doors—you know, the revolving ones?"

"Yeah, yeah," the blonde said. "I live here too," he chuckled a bit. "Okay, see you then,"

"Alright,"

Sakura felt her insides burn with anticipation as she turned away, and her arms and legs felt like jelly as she opened the café door and stepped out onto the pavement, where Itachi and Sasuke were, talking quietly.

"Hey, sorry about that," Sakura glanced furtively at Itachi and smiled. "Sorry for making you guys wait,"

"It's alright," Itachi said softly. He gazed at her, then looked back in through the glass panelling to find Deidara—but he wasn't there anymore. He must've gone into the kitchen.

"What was up?"

"Oh—nothing. He just wanted to…um…," Sakura struggled with the next bit. "…hang out,"  
_Hang out…_Itachi let the words roll around in his mind. _Hang out, huh? _

"Can we go somewhere else?" Sasuke said. The threesome began moving towards Itachi's car. Sakura all of a sudden felt anxious about Itachi, and what he thought of her going out with Deidara—did he think she was totally easy? The way he'd looked at her in the kitchen, it was undeniable he had _some_thing for her…but what was it? It could've been her imagination, really, but—

"I'll drive you back home," Itachi said to Sakura as she slid into the car once more. Her heart did a little drop and she wondered if Itachi was deliberately dismissing her because she'd told him she was going to hang out with Deidara, even though to her knowledge, it was a ludicrous idea, and she was just thinking too much.

"I have work soon," he explained on seeing the bewilderment on Sakura's face in the rear-view mirror. He looked at her for a moment longer, then indicated right and drove onto the road.

As he pulled up outside her house, he turned around to look at her. She was unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Take care and have fun tonight," he said quietly. The connotations in his words were clear: _be careful around Deidara. _Sakura nodded, her face hot.

"I will,"

"He better take you home,"

"U…um," Sakura faltered a little. She wasn't sure whether or not Itachi was just issuing one of those obligatory speeches adults made when teenagers told them they were about to go out with a member of the opposite sex at night, or if he was issuing a warning _specifically _about Deidara.

Sasuke shifted in his seat, sensing the edginess to his brother's voice with interest.

"Yeah. He will,"

"That's good," Itachi said, feeling the suspiciousness he had for Deidara creep into his voice. He knew Sasuke was noticing it—his younger brother was very sensitive to these sorts of thing—and Itachi threw him a look that said _what are you looking at? _"Bye then,"

"Thanks for the ride," Sakura said. She closed the door and watched as they drove away.

Was it just her, or did Itachi sound like he didn't like Deidara very much?


	29. Unwanted Ties

**Sometimes, just sometimes I regret writing a romance/ crime fanfic, because I have to balance every aspect of each genre out! And it feels like I'm dragging it out..=\ OH WELL. Enjoy. **

"Don't say anything,"

Itachi glanced sideways at Sasuke, who was slumped in his seat, his head resting against the cool glass of the window.

"I wasn't going to," Sasuke lied. He checked his mobile for the time. His previous night's lack of sleep still hadn't caught up with him yet.

"Sure," Itachi muttered under his breath. After a few minutes he pulled into the parking lot beneath their apartment block.

As they waited for the elevator, Sasuke asked, "So what was wrong?"

Itachi's hands closed slowly into fists. He couldn't actually pinpoint ONE problem: but if there had to be just one, it was because Deidara was in the Akatsuki, and he was taking Sakura out for dinner. And maybe more.

_I should be calm…since when did I ever jump to conclusions? _

After all, it could have been just an innocent dinner date.

The other problems were to do with his heart. He still didn't know if he liked Sakura—but now that Deidara was in the game, he felt that he was confusing his protectiveness of her with love. He shook his head lightly and the two entered the elevator.

"Don't tell me you're jealous,"

Itachi looked at Sasuke, who glanced at him just once, then focused on the elevator doors. His arms were crossed and he was every bit the icy, aloof image that the Uchiha had been renowned for. His black hair fell softly around his face, just like Itachi's did. Sasuke found it not a bit disgusting that Itachi might have had a crush on his class-mate, just a bit strange. As far as he knew, his brother only ever had one girlfriend, and that had been a long time ago, and at least she'd been his age. Sasuke only wondered what Itachi saw in her…and what he saw in Deidara, since it had been so damn obvious in the car that Itachi didn't like him.

"I'm not,"

They both stood in silence. The elevator stopped at ground level, and surprise of surprises, Juugo walked in, pushing a pale, white-haired boy in a wheelchair.

"Oh! Hey Sasuke," Juugo looked more startled than he should've been. The two Uchiha moved aside for the wheelchair, in which sat Kimimaro. Sasuke inspected him curiously. Was this the guy who Suigetsu had mentioned Juugo would be visiting in hospital? It had to have been.

"Hey,"

Sasuke gave his brother a look that said _that conversation is not over yet, _and for the rest of the ride up, Itachi remained silent.

"Sasuke, you live here?"

Juugo drummed his fingers nervously—yet happily—against the handles of the wheelchair. He nodded politely at Itachi, acknowledging him.

"Yeah,"

"That's cool. Um…Sasuke, this is Kimimaro, he's the guy…I visited. Kimimaro, this is Sasuke,"

"Nice to meet you," Kimimaro looked frail, but Sasuke could tell he was built of sturdy stuff and was strong-willed. He had long white tendrils of hair and he there was green and red around his eyes. It contributed to his overall look of a sick person. He was wearing simple, soft-looking clothing, and no shoes.

"Likewise,"

"Juugo told me about you," Kimimaro said. His voice was even; those types of voices that quietly commanded obedience. "He told me he admired you,"

Juugo lowered his head a little and smiled weakly at Sasuke. "Y-yeah," he chuckled nervously. Itachi raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Oh damn," Juugo said. "Forgot to press what level we're on,"

The orange-haired boy reached past Sasuke and jabbed the _level fifteen _button.

"Kimimaro lives here by himself," he explained. "But, um, I reckon I should stay with him. I—,"

"Juugo, no. We have been through this before,"

Kimimaro angled his head so he could look at Juugo in the eyes without fully turning around. "Kabuto has the keys to my apartment. He will visit me,"

"I still want to," Juugo said. "I mean…I'm living by myself, too, it'd…you know,"

The elevator jolted slightly as it stopped at level fifteen.

"I suppose that could be arranged," Kimimaro said. "Again, it has been a pleasure," he added to Sasuke. He nodded at Itachi, and then Juugo wheeled him out.

"Come down and visit later, Sasuke," Juugo said. "Suigetsu will be here. We're apartment number 15 C,"

"No," Sasuke pressed a hand against one of the elevator doors as they started to shut. "I'll come now. I have nothing to do, anyway,"

He shot Itachi a look and then walked out into the quiet, carpeted hallway which was almost identical to the one outside he and Itachi's penthouse. The elevator doors slid shut quietly.

"Alright then," Juugo led the way. He opened the door to apartment 15C and positioned Kimimaro near the floor-to-ceiling window. Sasuke took a seat as Juugo pulled open the curtains.

"So you are the same age as Suigetsu?" Kimimaro asked. Sasuke nodded and rested his elbow on one of the chair's armrests, his chin resting in his palm.

"Juugo is older than us," he continued. "Were you aware?"

"No,"

Juugo's phone rang and he picked it up.

"Hey, Suigetsu," he said. "Uh, yeah, we're here already. Alright, see you soon,"  
He pocketed his phone. "Suigetsu'll be here in five minutes,"

"It's been a while since I've set foot in a place that does not have that sterile stench," Kimimaro commented. He looked out the window. "I'm glad to be home,"

Sasuke wondered briefly if the guy had any family members, but it was easy and obvious to assume that since it was Juugo picking him up from hospital, he didn't.

"What did you have?" Sasuke asked. Kimimaro turned slowly to face him. He paused before answering.

"A lung disease. Common to every fifth generation of my clan. I was unfortunate to be born to it, but I am equally lucky to have overcome it….Sasuke, does your clan have any such illnesses?"

"No,"

"The Uchiha are lucky then,"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Juugo did not tell me this fact," Kimimaro said. "I could tell. Your face, the look in your eyes, the way you hold yourself together, and the way you talk. You are an Uchiha through and through,"

Sasuke was slightly impressed. He shifted a little in his seat.

"How has this city been treating you thus far?"

Sasuke shrugged. "It's okay,"

He was getting restless because Suigetsu was going to be here soon, and he was itching to ask him about more about Neji: it would give him something to do. He wanted something to investigate.

"It can get monotonous here," Kimimaro said knowingly. "However, there is more to this city than you first perceive,"

"Isn't that the same with every city, though?" Juugo put in. "Don't they all have bad sides?"

"Indeed, that is so. However, this city has it worse,"

Sasuke was about to ask further, but then there was a loud, impatient knocking at the door. Juugo jumped up and opened it. Suigetsu came through, hauling four or five shopping bags, which he set on the carpet. He was still wearing a red helmet.

"Hey, guys," he said, sounding happy. He removed the helmet and shook his hair out, clawing his hands through, brushing out the knots. "Um, yeah, I thought it would be nice to buy you some stuff now that you're back home,"

"Juugo, you shouldn't have," Kimimaro replied, turning to face the guy. He knew immediately it hadn't been Suigetsu's idea to do so—as if the Hōzuki would be that thoughtful to _him_. Juugo shrugged and exchanged a glance with Suigetsu, who dragged a chair next to Sasuke and sat down.

"You'll need them, though," Juugo protested: his face was indignant, and Kimimaro relented.

"Sasuke, how're you?" Suigetsu nudged Sasuke's knee with his own. "Any plans for the weekend?"

"Nah,"

"Neither. Hey Kimimaro, you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just a little bit tired,"

Suigetsu nodded as if he understood.

"Has anything changed since I was last let out of hospital?"

"Not really," Juugo said. "I guess it…depends on what you're talking about,"  
"Hm. Oh well, then," Kimimaro resumed looking on the window, saying no more.

* * *

Itachi was piling clothes into the washing machine when he felt something hard in the pocket of one of his pants. He reached in and extracted the phone he was told to reserve only for those who were involved in the Jinchuuriki. He took it carefully out of the tight plastic sleeve and clicked to the contacts: it only showed the member's initials: D, H, Kn, Ki, K, P, S, T and Z. Itachi ran the names over in his head.

_Deidara, Hidan, Konan, Kisame…_

_Wait. _Who was the third 'K'?

Itachi was gripped suddenly by a very bad feeling.

_Kakuzu? _

The remaining letters were definitely just Pein, Sasori, Tobi and Zetsu. Itachi's grip around the phone tightened, and he pushed the thought aside in his head. It could've been somebody else for sure—Kakuzu wasn't the only guy with a name beginning with 'K' in the whole Akatsuki company or the city, or wherever. But…

_They said Kakuzu went defect: yes, he worked for them, but he betratyed…in that case…what's his name still doing here? _

Itachi put the phone aside and put the rest of the clothes into the washing machine. Then he stared at his contacts again. His finger hovered over the _call _button when his eyes lingered over the _D. Deidara. _

Itachi chided himself. _Don't be so childish. _

_

* * *

_  
"Thank you, Mangetsu,"

Kisame took the book and hid it in the folds of his large black coat. "You've put yourself in a lot of danger, doing this,"  
Mangetsu shrugged and wiped the table top with a cloth. Kisame had gulped down his seafood omelette in a flash, and was now just sitting there drinking water. "It's worth it," he thought about Suigetsu as the words left his mouth, and wondered if it was _really _worth his brother's worry. _Yes, _he thought firmly.

"We're working on proceeding," Kisame said. "We got all our members,"

"Really? So soon?"

"Soon? It's been a full six bloody months since Hidan came out," Kisame growled in a low voice. Mangetsu nodded. _True. _

"If you ask me, we should've started without the new people. We could have went ahead and did half, and they would've come and completed it,"  
"Who are they?"

Kisame eyed Mangetsu, weighing the pros and cons of telling him who the new members were.

"Deidara and Sasori. In addition to Itachi,"

"Deidara?" Mangetsu repeated in disbelief. "You mean that café guy?"

"Yeah. Funny, isn't it?"

Mangetsu hadn't seen this coming. He furrowed his brow. "What's so good about him?"

"He's…," Kisame looked around him, but nobody was listening. "You know the 2004 bombing?"

Mangetsu nodded. _Don't tell me…_

"He did it,"

"Oh,"

"Can't tell just by looking at him,"

"Yeah,"

Mangetsu felt his entire body tense up. He grit his teeth together and forced himself not to think. _Deidara…the 2004 bombing, hey…_

"He's a scared little rat," Kisame quipped. "But we're holding this out against him. If he leaves or doesn't follow us, we're gonna leak information to the Hokage, and there'll be nothing of him left,"

Mangetsu said nothing. His throat felt like it had been lined with concrete.

"What…about Sasori?" he croaked eventually.

"He's….hm. One of those quiet psychopath types. Has quite the bloody history,"

Mangetsu nodded. He grabbed a nearby bowl and started to dry it with a towel, trying to distract himself. He looked at the lump in Kisame's coat, where his notebook was.

He wished he hadn't asked Kisame about Deidara.


	30. Koutou

Sakura stood in front of her full-length mirror nervously, holding a white, bubble-hem dress up to her body. It had taken her a long time to wheedle an exasperated "yes, you may go," from her mother, and it was taking her even longer to decide what to wear. She didn't want to over-dress or under-dress, meaning, what if Deidara hadn't really caught on that she wanted to eat at the fondue place, and was taking her somewhere else less black tie? She sighed and put the dress on her bed: it joined a dozen or so other discarded outfits. She rooted around in the drawers at the bottom of the closet, trying to find some sort of accessory that she could add to any of her clothes to make it better. Her fingers brushed against an unfamiliar material, and very carefully, she pulled it out.

It was a short red dress with a sweetheart neckline. She held it up to herself and pressed it against her body. It came down to just above her knees. She had absolutely no recollection of where the dress had come from—meaning, when or where she'd bought it—but she wasn't about to linger over this thought. It was perfect.

She unzipped it from the back and stepped into it. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and reached around to pull the zip back up. She was almost at the end when she couldn't pull it up any further. She yanked a few times firmly when the door opened and her mum poked her head through.

"Need any help, honey?"

Sakura looked at her mum helplessly, and she walked over and helped her pull the zip all the way up. Sakura's previous annoyance at her mum disappeared when she saw how worried yet happy her mum looked.

"I thought about it," her mum said. "You're growing up now. I understand you want to go out, and…," she trailed off. "It's a parent thing, Sakura," she patted her daughter's shoulders and looked into the mirror at their combined reflections. "My, you're beautiful,"

Sakura blushed a little. She did like the dress a lot, and wondered if it had been her mum who planted it in her room in foresight of these fashion emergencies.

"Thanks, mum,"

"At least I know you're going to Koutou, and not some party,"

_That's the thing…what if I'm not going to Koutou. _

"Yeah," Sakura ran a hand through her hair, wondering how she should style it.

"I think it's fine as it is," Sakura's mum said. She beamed at her and edged towards the door. "Just tell me when you leave, okay?"

Sakura nodded.

"And when you come back, tell me about your date,"

Before Sakura could reply to _that, _her mum was gone. Her mouth opened and closed. She hadn't really thought about it that way that much—Deidara was her date tonight. She was his date. She swallowed hard and smoothed out the dress, even though it looked fine. She really shouldn't be giving a crap how she looked for it—after all, it was just Deidara. He would probably like her in anything, judging by his personality. And—

_What about Itachi? _

Sakura did a full circle in the dress. _Would he like this?_

She bit her lip doubtfully and then grabbed a matching bag. She went down the hallway and chose a pair of not-that-high heels. She buckled the straps and then called out to her mum.

"MUM! I'm leaving!"

Her mum came over again. "Are you sure you don't want a ride, Sakura?"

"No, I'll be fine,"

Her mum's eyes grew sad for a moment, but then it disappeared, only to be replaced by motherly pride.

"Well, have a good night," she said. "I do hope you enjoy it,"

Sakura thought suddenly of Deidara's talktiveness, and nodded, not realizing that the smile that crept across her face right at that moment showed she was really, really, really looking forward to tonight. Her mother noticed, however, and grinned.

"Must be a hot date," she winked. Sakura groaned and rolled her eyes. Her mum could be so corny sometimes.

"I'm going," she said. She gave her mother a peck on the cheek, then left. "See you later, mum,"

* * *

Deidara rubbed his eyes a little and watched the hustle and bustle, coming and going of people of the Yamanaka. It was a weekend, and it was the evening, which meant it was particularly packed. He brushed back his sleeve with his fingers to see the time. That was when he spotted _her. _

_Wow. _Deidara took a step forward, pushing off the wall he was leaning on when Sakura came through the crowd in that red dress. She looked more sophisticated and lady-like than she usually was, and…

_Just wow. _

"Hey," Deidara grinned at her. He looked really pleased, and it made Sakura's skin tingle all over with the satisfaction of choosing the right outfit. "You look really…," he searched for the right word. "You look beautiful," he was about to say 'perfect', but he didn't want to set standard that she'd have to reach every time they went out in the future. And he really hoped that they _would _actually go out a lot in the future, because…

"Thanks," Sakura took the chance to look Deidara up and down closely, even though she'd spotted him from ages away. Somehow, the blonde had pushed his fringe aside so it wasn't shooting down half of his face anymore, yet it was somehow still _there. _The rest of his hair was styled in the same way, yet it looked better. It was probably because of what he was wearing: with that crisp white collared shirt, pin-striped grey vest, black tie and pants, he was every bit the "hot date" her mother called him. He had white shoes and had a stylishly cool white leather fingertip glove on his right hand. He pulled it all together with an air of confidence that Sakura just could not help but inhale sharply at. He just looked so…good. She didn't doubt that if he went to the nightclubs, he would be able to procure every girl there, yet here he was…with her.

"Let's go then," Deidara held out his gloved hand to her, which startled Sakura.

_Is he expecting me…to…?_

"Haha," the Iwa grinned widely and withdrew his hand. "Just kidding. Come on,"

They both stepped forward and went through the revolving doors. Sakura's left hand tingled, wondering what it would've felt like if she'd accepted to hold his hand—

_Oh My God…_they stepped out from the doors and Deidara stopped to take in his surroundings. Sakura lagged a little behind him, half admiring how he looked, half worrying about how she felt about him at the moment. _Calm down, Sakura, it's probably just infatuation. Or lust. _

"So, you wanted to go to Koutou, didn't you?"

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. "What?"

"Koutou," Deidara repeated. He walked over to her again, shortening the already short space between them. He was usually only a little bit taller than her, but her heels made her equal to his height without towering over him. He smiled at her. "For the fondue?"

Sakura's whole body burned with the closeness of Deidara. The feeling was simply unexplainable. The fact that he was _actually _taking her to Koutou…and he remembered the fondue thing. She was pretty sure a lot of other guys would probably be put off by her high standards, and it made happiness well up inside her.

"Yeah," she managed, her voice slightly hoarse. "Yes," she repeated, more clearly.

"I've been there a few times, for parties," Deidara explained as they headed towards the set of elevators specifically for the restaurants from the fifth to twelfth levels of the Yamanaka. "It's pretty good…yeah,"  
He walked ahead for a while, then turned around. Sakura was walking slower on purpose, because she just felt so damn _nervous. _She was afraid that if she walked with him, he would hear her heart beating, because it felt so loud in her own ears. Deidara smiled a little and walked over to her. Without a word, he looped his left arm through her right one. Her right hand closed instinctively, tentatively, around his bicep. The material of his shirt was crisp and clean, and his skin was warm beneath it.

"It must be hard to walk in heels hm?" he said jokingly. He guided her towards an elevator. Sakura's fingers—the one around Deidara's arm—were shaking slightly and kept slipping a little. Sakura wondered how the Iwa could look so freaking calm.

But, in fact, he wasn't that calm inside. He was glad to see her—no, make that positively ecstatic—but there was something holding all of that emotion in. If Sakura liked cool, he could show her cool.

"You ever been to Koutou. un?" Deidara asked. He went into the elevator first and Sakura saw his eyes glanced down at her heels as she joined him, making sure she didn't get her heel stuck.

"Um...yeah, once," she reached over and clicked the appropriate button.

"It's a good restaurant, but just wait 'til you can go to the bar, hmm,"

He smiled at her. Sakura hoped he wasn't going to try and make a move, because she was ill-prepared. Not that she'd _mind, _really, but—

"You go to the bar a lot?"

"Nah," Deidara replied. The elevator stopped. The doors slid open. The place looked as breathtaking as Sakura remembered: a smooth sheet of water ran straight down the centre of the huge window overlooking the Yamanaka's surroundings, meeting a silent pond beneath which was lit up with various shades of colour. The whole place was furnished in dark redwood floorboards, and red velvet chairs sat regally around tables. Sakura's heart pace quickened and her grip around Deidara's arm loosened a bit as she allowed herself to be rendered speechless by the Koutou.

"Table for two?"

A maître'd glided up to them and smiled woodenly at them. Deidara nodded. "I have a reservation,"

"Under what name would that be?"

"Deidara,"

Sakura looked to the woman who had just spoken. She had brilliantly coloured blue hair, and she was wearing a halter-neck black dress that showed off her voluptuous curves, yet still gave her a look of ultimate sophistication. Deidara grinned.

"Konan," Sakura's hand left his arm as he stepped forward and gave Konan a small embrace. Sakura felt awkward when he returned to her, and Konan's eyes skipped over her.

"You're on a date, Deidara?"

_She's pretty, _Sakura thought. Her cheeks flushed red and she glanced at Deidara, whose eyes were still trained on Konan. She felt a pang of jealousy.

"Yeah. What about you, hm?"

"I'm with Pein," Konan explained coolly. She glanced at the maître d. "Koutou is his favourite,"

At the mention of the name _Pein, _Sakura's eyebrows furrowed a bit. Wasn't Pein the Akatsuki CEO? And wouldn't that mean this lady was...

Yes, it had to have been. She should've realized sooner, but she never really paid attention to the news: Konan was the manageress of Hotel Taka.

_Wow..._Sakura would never have guessed that Deidara would _know _these people. It was really impressive, yet intimidating, because that meant there were so many things she didn't know about the blonde...and all this time, she'd just pinned him down as another sleazy 19 year old preying on young school girls. Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat, and as if on cue, Deidara reached for her and gently pulled her forwards. Konan looked at her disinterestedly, which only served to make the Haruno feel even less adequate. Konan was definitely one of those ice queens that could give you one look and your confidence level with go from one hundred percent to zero. Except Deidara looked completely fine and dandy around her.

_Probably because she's hot. And she's got boobs, _Sakura thought grumpily.

"Would you like to be seated together, Miss. Konan?" the maître'd asked. Sakura glanced behind them and saw a couple of people milling around, waiting to be served. Deidara shook his head.

"No, we're separate,"

His words made Sakura feel much better, as if the balloon of worry that he would take Konan over her had been popped with a needle and was deflating. She smiled gratefully at Deidara, and he smiled back.

"Say hi to Pein for me," Deidara said. He gave Konan a hard look and then nodded at the maître'd who led them down a small set of stairs to a table by the window.

"Was that Konan?" Sakura asked, a jealous edge to her voice. Deidara nodded distractedly and pulled out her chair for her to take a seat. He went to his own and a waiter immediately poured down a glass of chilled water.

"Yeah. It was,"

The Iwa took a sip of his water and tried to see where Konan was: he scanned the restaurant, but couldn't locate her blue hair or Pein's orange one. _They probably have a private room, hm...people as prestigious as they are. _He put the glass down and licked his lips.

"I knew her from when I was little. She was my neighbour," he explained. He folded his arms on the table. _But now, she's not who I think she is anymore...she's Akatsuki._ His face darkened. She really just used to be the beautiful girl Konan next door, twelve years his senior.

_I wonder if Pein will disapprove of me going on dates. _

"Oh,"

So they were practically childhood friends. That made it even worse, because it meant they both had a firm relationship. They probably knew everything about each other. Sakura would've bet her house that Deidara would not be able to resist her if she tried to seduce him: she was _that _stunning. But she looked a lot older than Deidara, which reassured Sakura a bit.

"Anyway, she's been busy the last few years she's joined up with Pein," Deidara said, noticing how uncomfortable Sakura looked talking about another woman, even though Deidara personally would never fall for a woman like Konan. _Too cold, _he thought. He liked his girls fiery, which was why he was with Sakura. "So we haven't talked much,"

_Except that will probably change now that this is...happening._

Sakura took a nervous sip of her water—the water even tasted better here at Koutou—and opened the menu, a book bound in black leather with gold inscription. She remembered just how expensive it was, but she still gaped at the prices. She glanced up at Deidara, but he didn't look fazed by the three-digit numbers that kept popping up.

"So you still in on that three course meal you want?" Deidara grinned at her. "Entree, main, dessert?"

His grin was contagious. It shot across the table like an arrow and thudded in Sakura's chest. She smiled back flirtatiously. "Of course. Can you afford it?"

Deidara's grin didn't falter. "Yeah, 'course,"

And he really could. This morning when he withdrew cash from an ATM, his balance reading said _1, 750, 942. 75 DOLLARS. _Deidara, of course, never remembered having over a million dollars, but it was so obvious it had been deposited into his account as a bribe from Akatsuki. Or maybe it wasn't a bribe, just a monetary gift.

_Fat chances of that, _the Iwa thought. _Definitely a bribe, un._ He kept looking at Sakura and watched her flip through the menu. He didn't know which Sakura he liked better: the one that came after school to the café looking preppy and neat, or the Sakura that sat in front of him right now. She hadn't styled her hair differently, and she wasn't wearing tons of make-up, which meant her natural beauty radiated. Deidara smiled a little to himself and tore his eyes away, looking down at what he wanted to eat.

* * *

"Dating?" Pein repeated. He swirled the Shiraz around in his wine glass. He speared a piece of rare Wagyu beef on his fork and ate it."Hm. He still has time for that?"

Konan nodded. "Well, it isn't as if Akatsuki are doing anything at the moment,"

"No," Pein argued. "The Akatsuki are never dormant,"

Konan went silent. She preferred champagne, and topped off her flute of it.

"I do not disapprove, Konan," Pein said. "But he is just endangering her life,"

"You're worrying about the lives of the innocent?" Konan repeated with slight disbelief. Pein smiled thinly at the irony of it all if he said he _was _worrying about the girl's life.

"You are right," he said. "I do not care. But...," he took another sip of his Shiraz and smacked his lips quietly. "...he will be dedicated to the Akatsuki full-time very soon, and he will have no time for her anymore,"

Konan remained quiet.

"Mangetsu just submitted the first document we need to track the Jinchuuriki," Pein explained. "We can finally begin,"


	31. A New Hatred Arises

Itachi slammed the phone down into its socket a little too hard. He looked at the time in the bottom right corner on his computer. It was 6:30 pm. He didn't know when Deidara and Sakura were meeting up, but they had to be together by now. It was definitely peak dinner time around here, even though Itachi never got hungry until around 8. The Uchiha swallowed the hard lump in his throat and pulled up the Excel spread sheet he'd been working on before he got the call, trying to push all the thoughts from his mind as he typed in numbers. There had definitely been signs that Deidara had liked Sakura a long time before he joined Akatsuki, but why did he have to choose _now _to ask her out? It made Itachi's hands itch.

_He's only taking her out for dinner. That's all it is._

But…

Itachi thought again about Sakura's kiss on the cheek and he immediately felt that surge of protectiveness again. He couldn't tell whether it was like brotherly protectiveness—the same type he extended to Sasuke—or _that other _type. The love type. But if the latter were true, wouldn't that mean he was jealous too? Itachi didn't really feel jealous. He just felt like pushing Deidara aside and not letting him anywhere near her—was that jealousy? Did _he _want to get near Sakura instead? Replace him? But Itachi knew he could never really replace Deidara…their personalities were so different; Sakura would always remember the Iwa as the cocky waiter he was. He breathed slowly and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. He had no idea what to do anymore. And thus, he wasn't going to do anything, in case he made mistakes.

He opened his eyes again and stared immediately at the mobile on his desk. He picked it up, went to the contacts list. Again, his finger rested over the call button on the first contact: _D _for _Deidara. _His heart felt like it was in straitjacket, it was so tense. He pressed call.

"Oh, yeah? You say you actually like reading?" Deidara swirled his spoon through his soup and smiled. "That's a surprise,"

"What do you mean a surprise?" Sakura retorted, grinning despite herself. "I'm not, you know—,"

"Wait," Deidara put his spoon down and reached into one of his pant pockets, extracting a sleek mobile. Sakura could tell it must've cost a lot of money. The thing had been vibrating in Deidara's pocket, and he couldn't really say he was surprised, because of his meeting with Konan. He had braced himself for _some _retaliation, if any. His normal mobile was in his other pocket, with his wallet. The screen read: _I is calling. _

_I…_of course, Deidara had taken the opportunity to look through the phone, and yes, he'd seen how he had all the Akatsuki member's numbers. _Itachi. _Deidara glanced up at Sakura, who was watching him furtively. When their eyes met, she lowered her eyes and drank a spoonful of soup while simultaneously grabbing a bread roll. Deidara hesitated over answering. Itachi was only calling him for one reason, and that was the girl in front of him. It made the Iwa's head pound with anxiety as well as satisfaction over the fact Itachi was giving him reactions.

He pressed answer and slowly raised the mobile to his ears.

"Yes, un?"

There was silence at the other end. Deidara could hear a computer-like whirr in the background.

"Deidara,"

Itachi's voice sounded deeper than usual, a little raspier. It made Deidara smile. He masked it with a cough.

"How are you?" the blonde answered. _Are you angry that I am between you and her? I know you're trying to make a move on her, Itachi, but you can't stop me._ He brought his hand up to his face—the one with the glove—and flexed his fingers, watching the mouth in his hand open and close with the movement.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Deidara,"

His words hung in the air around the Iwa's head. He closed his hand into a fist and put it down.

"What are you saying?" the blonde answered, lowering his voice yet retaining a frustratingly jovial tone. He knew he sounded exactly like an asshole. But so what? It was just Itachi. "I wasn't going to do anything, hmm,"

An obvious lie.

To Itachi anyway. Deidara knew how it sounded, what it implied, but honestly he wasn't going to try anything. But let Itachi think what he wanted to think.

Itachi said nothing. The tension between them was tangible, except neither of them knew exactly what the other was thinking. The conflict had arisen out of nowhere, it seemed, and the two were using Sakura as a basis of it. Deidara had played the green-eyed monster from the beginning when he noticed Sakura's avid interest in the Uchiha, and culminated in Deidara finally ceasing his smug behaviour around her and being nicer. Did that make Itachi jealous? And now that they were both in the Akatsuki, the heights had soared through the roof top and now Deidara was thinking that Itachi would do something bad to Sakura if _he_ didn't do anything. Deidara knew of the Akatsuki plans—to destroy the city—and wanted to protect the Haruno from that. And since Itachi seemed to know of his crush on her, did he want to stop that? Was he so entrenched in the Akatsuki ideology that he didn't even let Sakura off? Did he have a sadistic thing for her? Or was he just another player who wanted to ruin the life of a younger girl who was so obviously infatuated with him just for fun? Did he not want Deidara to 'do anything he won't do' because if he couldn't have Sakura, nobody could? Deidara grit his teeth.

_Akatsuki sure added a whole new level to this. Hm. _

After all, within Akatsuki, everybody seemed to think he, Deidara, was the most unwilling member, and therefore probably suspected him despite the fact they were blackmailing him. But blackmail sometimes only gets you so far—what if Deidara leaked information before committing suicide or something? What if he was smarter than they all thought, and was feeding Sakura information? There were so many other possible elements to it, but Deidara believed that Itachi probably suspected him the most of being Akatsuki's weakest link. And that was why…

_Why he is keeping an eye on me. Hmph._

"I just wanted to warn you," Itachi finally said. His voice was soft and menacing. And with that, he hung up. Then he switched his phone off and put it in one of the desk's drawers. If the rest of Akatsuki wanted to contact him, they would do it through Konan, who was still in her office.

_Deidara joined the Akatsuki's group aimed for the Jinchuuriki after I did. He must have known I was part of it…or maybe not. It does not matter…_

The Akatsuki were still keeping Itachi in the dark about the _real _reason they wanted the Jinchuuriki, so of course the Uchiha didn't know that Deidara was in it because of blackmail. If he only knew Deidara was being forced in, he would no longer have the reason to suspect him for wanting to hurt Sakura in the way Deidara thought _he _wanted to hurt her. The two men thought the same thing of each other, yet…

It was all very constricting on Itachi's thoughts: he kept thinking of the consequences if he didn't actively participate in the Akatsuki's slightly foul deeds. If he withdrew, he wouldn't have the chance to stop Deidara if he tried anything. That was one of Itachi's motivations for staying.

And little did he know it was Deidara's motivation too, except the other way around.

"Who was that?"

Sakura looked up at the waitress who had come to remove her empty soup bowl. Deidara slipped the phone in the appropriate pocket, his mind still a mess of thoughts about Itachi. _I bet it was in the job advertisement,_ Deidara brushed his fringe aside and exhaled loudly. _He knew what the Akatsuki really were. That damned Uchiha. _

"A friend of mine," Deidara leaned forward and smiled. "Just wanted to ask me something about computers and shit,"

"You know about computers?" Sakura had seen the look on the blonde's face when he was on the phone: it had darkened considerably like a raincloud had passed over it. His features had contorted into an expression of contempt and arrogance. He looked as if he didn't know Sakura had seen the expression, but she had. And so, she knew Deidara was lying about who he'd just spoken to.

"Yeah. I fix them sometimes for people, hm. You learn a lot from following danna,"

_Danna. _Sakura knew that was what Deidara called Sasori.

"He knows how to…as well?"  
Deidara nodded and grabbed a bread roll which was still warm. He sliced it open deftly and buttered it, taking his time.

"Yeah. He's…good at puzzles and things like that. Putting things together, hm. Improving things, adding things,"

"He sounds smart," Sakura breathed. She'd never talked to Sasori, but he looked like a demanding yet heartless man. His appearance always gave her the creeps, especially that black ring around his neck: it was usually covered up by the fact his baker's outfit had a high white neckline—kind of like a turtleneck, but not quite that high—but once, he'd unbuttoned it a little and Sakura had seen it. The black ring. She assumed it was a tattoo, albeit a really, really weird one. And those eyes—they were doll-like. Lifeless. Deidara was his complete opposite: always full of life.

"So why do you call him danna?" she asked. She'd always been curious about this point, because wasn't it kind of demeaning for Deidara, who was usually a little self-important, to call some other guy his danna? Deidara shrugged.

"It just came to me one day," he looked at Sakura and everything about her calmed him right down from his conversation with Itachi and frenzied thoughts over Akatsuki. "Do you want a pet name, un?" he added cheekily.

_There it is, _Sakura thought to herself, biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling too widely. There it was…that glow Deidara had. She'd never noticed it before, but when the Iwa was happy, his eyes seemed brighter, he just…looked _really _good. She could see her reflection clearly in the gleaming silver of the plate of butter, and her cheeks had gone pink. A pet name…that would signify how _close _they were, wouldn't it?

"Hmmm," Deidara stroked his chin in mock deep thought. "Well a pet name has to do with one's personality, no?"

"Yeah," Sakura randomly thought of Kiba's pet name for her: _bitch, _and laughed a little. Deidara raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," she coughed and smiled. "My friend Kiba calls me bitch,"

"Bitch?" Deidara repeated. "That suits you,"

Sakura would've normally been angry, but somehow tonight it felt like nothing could faze her anymore. As the night proceeded, she'd grown more and more confident and bubbly. So she smacked Deidara's arm with a hand.

"Ahh, Sakura," Deidara chewed on his bread roll. He swallowed. "You're so violent," he looked at her seriously. His gaze was unavoidable and demanding, yet soft. Sakura gulped. It was so obvious he wanted her, and wanted to do something…make a move.

_But why would he want _me, _when there's so many other girls his age that are probably better? _

And as if he heard her, Deidara's feet slid forward slowly beneath the table. His knee brushed against her bare ones, and it made her jump a little. Her knee burned. She looked at Deidara, who looked at her nonchalantly, smiling behind his bread roll all of a sudden. She lowered her eyes and stared at the tablecloth in front of her.

_I thought…I thought I like…Itachi. _

She thought of Sasuke's older brother and couldn't help the feeling that overcame her at that moment.

_No…I don't like him. I like…_

She raised her head to look at Deidara gain, who was now chewing on the last bit of his bread. He smiled a small smile. And Sakura bit her lip.

For once, she didn't try to deny her feelings. Didn't overanalyse, didn't think about too much. Because it was obvious, so _confusing _because she always hated him, yet here she was, blushing like a fool when he was only touching her knee with his own.

_I like..._

_...Deidara.  
_

_

* * *

_  
"Oh my God, please tell me you're over it," Kiba growled. He tossed the heavy textbook to the carpeted floor and sat up in the beanbag. Shikamaru rolled his eyes from his perch at his desk.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm over her,"

And he really was: he'd taken the same attitude to the break up as with every other obstacle he faced in life: _what a drag. _Yet she lingered in his thoughts. How could she not? She was his first girlfriend.

_Was. _Shikamaru tucked his pen behind his ear. _What an annoying word. _

"Good," Kiba said. He sighed loudly and Akamaru barked at him. "Because there are _heaps _of other chicks out there," he motioned at his dog and Akamaru jumped into his arms. Kiba patted his head and scratched the patch of fur behind his ears.

Shikamaru hmph-ed. He didn't want another girlfriend at the moment anyway. His door opened again and Chōji came through holding a tray of too many drinks: probably most of them were extras for himself. Behind him, Naruto bounded through with a grocery bag of chips and gummy bears.

"Let's eat!" the Uzumaki crowed, gleefully ripping open a bag of chips. Chōji nodded enthusiastically and joined him on his little food fiesta on the carpet.

"Guys, the whole point of this is to _study_," Kiba protested, nevertheless reaching over to grab a few gummy bears and tossing them up in the air, catching them with his mouth. "But whatever. I'm all for slacking off,"

Shikamaru wanted to slack off, too, as he usually did, but he wanted to get his mind of all the weird thoughts of life by studying. He turned back to face the trigonometry chapter in his textbook. He didn't _need _to study anyway, so what was the harm in slacking? He closed it firmly and joined his friends.

* * *

"Say what?"

Suigetsu nodded as his friend talked to him through the headphones: he was playing an online game, and was wearing a headset complete with a microphone. The Hōzuki rapidly right clicked and smiled in satisfaction as _DOUBLE KILL _came up on his screen.

Time to reload, he thought.

"KA. RIN. KARIN! She's a crazy bitch!"

Suigetsu laughed. His friend, Giyuu, always had the most eruptive and obsessive girlfriends. And the thing was, he never learned from his mistakes or bad experiences. Giyuu had just told him that he hooked up with a girl at a frat party, but then regretted it when the "bitch" called him the next day and claimed he took advantage of her.

"And I was like, are you kidding me? She threw herself all over me!" he claimed. Suigetsu just laughed again. It was always highly amusing to hear of his friend's life. Suigetsu knew him from Tower Orochimaru, but Giyuu was three, four years older, so he'd gotten out.

"I swear, I'm gonna turn gay," Giyuu whined.

"Calm down, man," Suigetsu heard Mangetsu walk past his room and his mood plummeted a little. "You'll find the right one in time. Everybody does,"

Suigetsu wasn't all that interested in love and girls: he only went as far as flirting. He had _Mangetsu _to worry about, and didn't want to lure anybody else into it.

_Fucking Mangetsu…endangering my life. And his…_

"Whatever. How come you haven't had a girlfriend yet?"

Suigetsu's online player died after a headshot. The scoreboard came up on his screen and he sighed.

"I dunno," he said. "Don't want one,"

"Hmph," Suigetsu heard Giyuu take a sip of something loudly. "You should probably know this Karin anyway. I heard she comes from your city,"

"This place is huge, you idiot,"

"I know. But if you see her, _leg it_,"

Suigetsu shrugged to himself. "I'm gonna go. Talk to you tomorrow,"

The Hōzuki took the headset off just as Giyuu protested "It's only 7! What the fuck!" and unplugged it from his hard drive. Then he exited the game and put his computer on standby.

"Mangetsu,"

He walked out and into his brother's room, which was neat, orderly, and dark, with a single poster of the band he liked. His brother was looking for clothes, wanting to go take a shower. Mangetsu looked at him for a moment, then turned away.

"If this is about the…Akatsuki thing, I'm not answering any questions or listening to any of your complaints,"

"You're so selfish," Suigetsu countered immediately. He was angry, which was rare for him. Mangetsu felt his skin crawl. "You don't even think what could happen if—,"

"Not listening," Mangetsu said firmly. As the older one, he towered over Suigetsu by almost a head. He brushed past his brother and headed to the bathroom. The younger Hōzuki's hands formed fists as he watched his brother go away. He heard the bathroom door close, then walked towards Mangetsu's black desk.

_You'll know…when the time comes. _Mangetsu put his clothes down next to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. He really needed some proper sleep. The knowledge he'd gained tonight…that Deidara was the bomber in the unsolved 2004 disaster...

Mangetsu ground his sharp teeth together. His purple and black eyes narrowed and he wanted to punch a wall. But he didn't want to attract more attention to himself when Suigetsu was around. But he couldn't help the stuff boiling up inside him, the emotion, the _hate. _Mangetsu had known of Deidara's existence for a long time—they were, after all, both proprietors of a place that served food. Okay, so Deidara wasn't the owner, but he was there so much he might as well have been. Mangetsu never paid attention to him, and neither did Deidara. They were both just…there.

And now, Mangetsu didn't want him to be.

_I will eliminate you...Deidara. _


	32. Kakuzu

The prison office was dark and only lit with the light above the reception desk, which was behind a dark mesh screen. There was a small slot where you could talk to the receptionist, but other than that, you couldn't do anything else with him. It was there for security purposes.

The man at the desk tonight flipped a page in his newspaper and sighed heavily. Like most nights, he had no visitors. The most eventful that happened on his shift so far was somebody coming through with food on a tray for the one of the guys in the custody cell: the police station next door had apparently run out of them because of a new drug bust that had arisen. The food was a beef stew with vegetables and a cup of water. It had smelled great despite the stereotype that prison food was sloppy.

The door opened with a soft _whoosh. _Blaring traffic noises came in and then the door closed. The receptionist looked up.

Two men stood in front of him. One had silver hair, and was dressed in a double-breasted, white chef's outfit, with the complementary hat squashed up carelessly in one of his hands. The other man was a little shorter than he, and was wearing a long black trench coat which contrasted well with his slightly messy red hair. They were an unusual pair; that was for sure. One big, muscly and the other had a more petite frame. The receptionist grunted to himself and put the newspaper down.  
"Good evening, gentlemen,"

Sasori ignored Hidan and walked forwards. He slid the sheaf of paper through the slot, eyeing the receptionist carefully, even though he didn't perceive him as much of a threat.

"Bail?" the receptionist read out loud incredulously. He glanced at the two men, then back at the words in front of him.

Kakuzu has been granted bail on the conditions that he…

_Kakuzu? Granted BAIL? _

It was impossible. It must've been a fake: if there was an application for bail for someone like Kakuzu it would've been plastered all over the news. And there hadn't been anything about it as far as he knew. But…they had all the proper signatures, the stamps, the authorization. The receptionist couldn't refuse…unless he doubted it was a fraud. He swallowed a little; if the two men here were trying to get Kakuzu released with a fake bail form, then that meant they were dangerous people. And dangerous people usually invoked violence to get what they wanted, and to avoid what they didn't want.

"Um…," he made a show of flipping through the forms. "Just a moment," he said hastily, finally. He got out of his chair and walked into the backroom, where another door led into the administrations section of the prison. It was a high security prison—that was obvious, since Kakuzu was here—but there was hardly anybody here that could help him. There were the guards, but they didn't do anything except hassle prisoners, make sure they went into their cell on time et cetera. The system had gotten lazy, and if the media caught wind of how slack they were being, they would be in big trouble. Nothing ever happened, anyway: the criminals in here weren't rowdy. They were more like the type to slink around, muttering insanely beneath their breaths, scheming, so it wasn't like they _needed _that many prison guards and sergeants around all the time.

The receptionist opened the door to the administration office. Way down at the back, the light to the sergeant's office was lit up. The receptionist's heart welled up gratefully and he walked towards it.

"Fucking procedures," Hidan said, putting his hands on his hips. "Can't they just let him out?"

Sasori said nothing. He was, too, incredibly impatient, but chose to ignore Hidan. After all, they had these 'procedures' in for a reason.

Moments passed, and the man came back out with the sergeant in tow, who was looking through the papers with the same confused expression. The receptionist had missed it, but the sergeant hadn't: there'd been a lawyer's letter stapled to the very back, which requested utmost secrecy. The bail had been granted under the noses of the sniffing news reporters, and so far, there had been no leaks. Apparently the application had been going on for quite a while now, and was rejected three times. Out of completely nowhere, however, a new Judge was appointed, and he allowed the grant of bail. It was a suspicious and audacious move to kick off his career.

"This is bullshit," the sergeant muttered to himself. But he had to do it. He motioned to the two men.

"I'll meet you on level two," he said gruffly.

Sasori nodded and he and Hidan proceeded to the stairs. Hidan's steps were heavy while Sasori's were light. It was obvious the Jashinist was dragging his feet, clearly annoyed that he had to accompany Sasori on this little late night adventure, even if he was going to see his partner again.

The sergeant was waiting for them at the top of the stairs. He was now empty-handed. He nodded at them again, still extremely perplexed and slightly angry that Kakuzu was getting let off in a way. But he'd seen the signatures and the stamps, and they had been very real. So now he had a job to do.

"He's on the eighth level. We'll take the elevator,"

They took the elevator up. Hidan was fidgeting and crossing, uncrossing his arms often, but otherwise remained silent. Sasori was grateful.

The hallway they walked into was completely white, like a hospital, but empty. Behind a security door, Sasori and Hidan could see five doors along each wall. Heavy bolted doors with a slot that was only able to be opened and closed from the outside. White numbers on black plaque stuck to the door. A plastic sleeve attached adjacent to the doors, probably prisoner information. The security guard on duty nodded at the sergeant and swiped his card. The sergeant held the door open for the two.

"He's down the end," the sergeant said. He walked slowly. Hidan heard a few clatters behind the doors, but otherwise the prisoners seemed to be asleep. He knew Kakuzu never slept, and he actually felt kind of excited as they neared his supposed cell.

The sergeant got out a bunch of keys. He slid it into the lock and turned it right. Then he swiped his card. The door swung out.

Kakuzu looked up. Saw Hidan, and a guy he didn't know, but Hidan was all he needed.  
"You've been granted bail and will now be released," the sergeant intoned. Hidan grinned.

"Let's go, Kakuzu!"

* * *

Deidara laughed. Sakura kicked him a little under the table.

"Ow!" the Iwa reached down to his shin and rubbed it a little. "You're nasty, un,"

"It's _your _fault,"

"Hmph," Deidara took a sip of his gin and tonic, which he'd refused to let Sakura have a taste of. Sakura sighed happily and rubbed her arms a little, overcome with a light, fuzzy feeling. She and Deidara's legs were still touching under the table. They'd eaten dessert—the fondue—and were now just talking over drinks.

Deidara checked his watch.

"You wanna go now, hm?"

Sakura scanned her surroundings once more. It had been a perfect night, and the Koutou had been the perfect place. Even Konan had disappeared from her mind.

"Okay,"

Deidara raised a hand and when a waiter came he asked for the bill. When all of that was done, he got up and helped Sakura out of her chair.  
"Let's go,"

Sakura followed him out. Her heart had slowed a little and she was feeling less jumpy that she was at the beginning. She kept thinking about Itachi and how infatuated she'd been with him—yes, it still confused her slightly with the sudden change of a love interest—but now that she was with Deidara, it all seemed so clear. It made her feel stupid and foolish, because all those other times where she'd been a complete bitch to him—were they just her subconscious denial that she really liked him? She'd thought about Hinata, too, and how she liked Deidara, but…Sakura felt only a little bad. She knew it was nasty of her. _It's not my fault I'm not capable of that much guilt, _she thought slightly grumpily. She figured she'd deal with it later. Not like Hinata had any progress on the Iwa, so it wasn't like she had claimed him in any way which would manifest a betrayal on Sakura's behalf.

"You want to go back home? Or you want to—,"

The phone vibrated in Deidara's pocket again. He sighed with loud and clear exasperation and took the Akatsuki phone out. The screen read _S. _

_Sasori. _

_Maybe this is about work? _Deidara answered.

"Hello, danna," he said. Over the phone, he could tell Sasori was in a car.

"Come immediately to the café,"

"What?" the annoyance immediately crept into Deidara's voice. He glanced at Sakura and this time didn't try to hide his feelings. "You're kidding me, right?"

"I never joke,"

"But—,"

"Come,"

_Beep. _

Deidara cursed. He wanted to throw the phone onto the ground, but since Sakura was around, he didn't.

"Who was that?" the Haruno asked, even though she'd clearly heard him say _danna,_ which meant it was Sasori.

"Danna," Deidara answered instantly. He looked at her properly and his gaze softened. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but I have to…go, un,"

He ran a hand through his blonde hair, looking apologetic and distressed. Sakura didn't want the night to end so early, but the way he looked right then was just…

"It's okay," she reached over and touched his arm lightly. He looked into her eyes. He thought of what Akatsuki had on him, and how nobody else had ever known before they came along. It had always been the deepest part of Deidara's being—the guilt was indescribable—and now that it was being used against him, he could do absolutely nothing except be pulled along on a string. So when Sasori called him, he had to listen. No matter how much he hated it, no matter how much he wanted to stay with Sakura, he knew he was sold to Akatsuki.

"I'll drive you home,"

"No," Sakura said. She squeezed Deidara's arm lightly and looked at him reassuringly. She didn't know why she wasn't pissed at the fact he was going so soon, or why she was accepting to go home by herself. She was always a high-maintenance girlfriend, demanding perfection from her boyfriends, but this time just seemed…different.

"Are you sure, hm? It's not like I'll be late,"

_I really want to drive you home, Sakura. _

"You already treated me to dinner, though!" Sakura said, trying to persuade him she was okay with it. _Because I really am okay with it…_

"That's what a man would do," Deidara smiled softly. He leaned forward and took her in an embrace. Sakura felt herself redden immediately as her chest melted into his. His arms were wrapped around her waist and he buried his face a bit into her pink hair, inhaling her scent, trying to forget about the Akatsuki just for a while. He almost wanted to cry, but just as he felt the surge come on, he let her go.

"I'll make up for this, okay?" he whispered. He smiled again at her, but this time, it was a little sad. Sakura smiled back at him. The hug had felt…like there was more to it than just boy-likes-girl. Sakura had felt something else in the air, but she didn't want to wonder what it was. Like she'd realized before, there were tonnes of things she didn't know about Deidara. She just hoped she would find out soon.

"It's alright, seriously," she gave him a little push. "It's only eight,"

"But—,"

"Just go, Deidara,"

The blonde looked at her seriously, his mouth a tight line, wondering. But his eyes were unreadable.

_Fucking Akatsuki…_

"Alright. Stay safe, okay? Don't get into the car with anybody, un,"

"O_kay_, Deidara, I'm not _three_," Sakura grinned. The sight of her looking so happy and frivolous lightened the weights on Deidara's mind a little.

"I just feel bad," he sighed. He grasped her shoulders and shook them lightly. "Seriously. Be careful, okay? Tell your mum to pick you up,"

"That's not a bad idea," Sakura got her mobile out of her clutch. "I'll call her, okay? You go ahead,"

Deidara smiled at her distractedly. "Okay, hm. I'll call you later,"

Sakura had given him her number during dinner. She nodded, already eagerly anticipating the call.

"Bye!"

"Talk to you later,"

Deidara waved a little and then hurried to where he'd parked his car. Since the Yamanaka had so many patrons every day, they charged for parking just to earn that extra few dollars. He walked downstairs quickly, found his car, and got in, pulling out the ticket stub from his glove box. He drove out, feeling a little less angry than before, but nevertheless bothered. What the hell would Sasori want at this time at night? At the café? Did that mean he wanted another helping hand? Was it really just that?

_The way he sounded over the phone…it sounded like more than that, hm. _Sasori always sounded the same—bland—but this time, there had been a new edge to his voice. Deidara ran through a red light, not caring about the blare of a car horn to his right. He glanced in his rear view mirror.

_No cops. Good. _

He kept both hands on the steering wheel, trying to calm himself down. He checked the time. It was ten past eight.

_The café won't have closed yet. _

But when he drove into the street along which it sat, the lights were out. Deidara furrowed his brow and parked his car where he usually did. He saw Sasori, Hidan and a man he didn't recognize. Mainly because his back was to him. Deidara got out of the car. His heartbeat increased again, as it always did when he was on Akatsuki business.

"Hey, blondie's here," Hidan announced. Sasori glanced at him witheringly. Then the man turned around.

"Kakuzu, this is Deidara,"

_Kakuzu? _Deidara struggled to fathom that the man in front of him…was Kakuzu. The pictures of him on the news had always showed him with that mask over his mouth and nose, and around his head. Here, he was uncovered, and wearing a long black cloak. There were stitches curling put from the edges of his mouth. He didn't so much as blink when he saw Deidara, but he did nod a little in acknowledgement. Deidara could tell he was a man of few words.

"What happened?" Deidara asked, his voice a little weak because of Kakuzu's presence. The way they were all standing in a cluster outside the café, it looked suspicious, especially since the streetlights here were dim.

"We got my buddy Kakuzu out of prison," Hidan cracked his knuckles, his purple eyes gleaming daringly. "About fucking time, don't you think?"

Deidara didn't answer.

"I'm pretty sure Pein wants to see us all," Hidan continued. "But—I'm being fucking serious here—if he sets any more meetings at night, I'm gonna rip his damned head off,"

"Have fun trying," Kakuzu growled.

"Haven't changed, have ya?" Hidan shot back. "Still uptight as ever,"

"Shut up,"

Hidan sighed loudly, surrendering. "Okay. _Finnne. _We better go now. We're getting picked up, which is why we called you, Deidara,"

"What?"

_Pein and Konan were in the same restaurant as me, for God's sake, couldn't they have just told me in advance? And can't we just drive ourselves? _

"We're going to the _official _Akatsuki HQ," Hidan explained. He itched behind his ear, looking irritated. "So fucking stupid. Pein's just worried we'll be overheard or some shit. As if none of us would notice if something was planted in that goddamn room of his,"

"It's better to be safe than sorry," Kakuzu said. "And besides, I do not think it's because of that,"

"Whatever," Hidan countered. "Couldn't he just've given us the fucking address?"

"No,"

They all turned. Zetsu seemingly came out of nowhere and approached them all. He looked more ominous than usual.

_Pein's right hand man. _Deidara bit his lower lip and tried not to appear nervous when Zetsu's eyes passed over him.

"We're going on a jet,"

"_Jet_?" Deidara repeated in disbelief.

"What the fuck?" Hidan said at the same time. The two exchanged glances.

Sasori folded his arms. _This certainly sounds important…_he licked his lips. _Hmmm…time to kill yet? _

"Come with me,"

"Can we not _walk_?" Hidan complained, nevertheless walking at the front of the group just a little behind Zetsu, who was leading the way. "I've done enough walking today to last a fucking life time,"  
"Get over it, Hidan," black Zetsu growled. "You get lazy,"  
"You'd be lazy too if _you _lost a lot of blood today,"

_What? What did he do? _Deidara got his phone out of his pocket—the non-Akatsuki one—and glanced at the screen to see if Sakura had texted him, even though he hadn't heard it vibrate. She hadn't. He put it back in again, remembering Hidan was a Jashinist. He wondered what he killed.

"Besides, it's not _laziness. _I'm just fucking tired!" Hidan continued to complain. Beside Deidara, Kakuzu rolled his eyes and grunted a little. Sasori was behind them.

"Don't worry, Hidan, here is the car,"

_Not a car. A limousine. _

_A sleek black limousine. _One of the windows rolled down. It was Pein.

"Get in," he ordered. "Konan has the jet ready,"

They all got in. The inside of the limousine was simple, but grand. Pein was in the front passenger seat, and the rest of them sat facing each other. Kakuzu and Hidan. Sasori and Deidara. Zetsu got in the row behind them, slinking into the shadows. Hidan immediately opened a fridge beneath his seat and took out a bottle of coke.

"This better be fucking worth it," he announced, opening the coke and gulping it down noisily. The limousine started up and drove off. Deidara sighed and rested his elbow on one of them hand rests. He was tired, and the gin and tonic lingered in his mouth. He kept thinking of Sakura, and how he could do nothing about Akatsuki's hold on him. He bit down hard on one of his leather-encased fingers as the car drove past many buildings, whizzing through the streets, their many different coloured lights falling onto his features as he anticipated what was to come.


	33. All Aboard

Sasuke unlocked the door to the penthouse and walked in to a darkened home. He flicked the light switch. The place was completely silent save for a mechanic whirring somewhere in the house. Sasuke sighed a bit. He never thought he would've cared, but he was actually feeling kind of empty without Itachi in the house anymore. He'd gone out for dinner by himself, because he couldn't be bothered cooking, and was hoping that his older brother would be home by the time he came back. He even took the long way home _walking. _

Which meant he passed the café.

And he'd seen them.

But by a stroke of luck, they hadn't seen him. Sasuke had been surprised that the place was closed so early, and had watched Sasori, Hidan and the other man for a while before Deidara pulled up. The blonde looked like he'd just gone on a date, all dressed up. Of course from his vantage point, he hadn't heard a thing, but he'd seen how agitated Deidara looked. Then Zetsu had shown up—Sasuke recognized _him_ from all the newspapers—and they all walked uphill somewhere else around the corner. Sasuke knew immediately it was definitely something to do with Akatsuki, and wondered what in the world the company could possiblu want with people like Deidara, Sasori and Hidan, who worked at the café.

So part of the reason why Sasuke wanted Itachi home was to ask his older brother if he _knew _that those three were in the Akatsuki, and why. It was much too stupid and way too coincidential to say something like "they're just friends", because what were the chances of that?

Sasuke shook his head lightly. Maybe he was reading too much into this: looking at it on face value, it was just a bunch of men meeting up. But since it had something to do with his brother, he felt obliged to find out more.

_No. Itachi is competent. _

_He'll take care of himself._

Sasuke scanned the living room and the kitchen one last time, then turned the lights off, walking up the stairs in complete darkness.

* * *

"Sakura, you're home!"

Sakura ignored her mum as she stood there watching her daughter take off her shoes.

"Yeah, he had something come up," she explained. She sighed and looked at her mum.

"Oh…well, did you have a good night?"

Sakura already knew the answer to this, but she thought about it. The night's proceedings ran through her head, and she couldn't help but smile for the millionth time that night.

"Yes," she breathed. "Yes, it was,"

Her mum smiled serenely. "Go on and take a shower first, hon. We can talk more later,"

* * *

"I thought we were going on a jet, not a fucking ship,"

Hidan slammed the door closed. They were all standing around an otherwise silent harbour: stevedores sat around, immobile, and variously sized cruisers and ships were docked there. The water was black and the lights of the skyscrapers reflected off it in greens, blues and gold. The breeze here was much colder, and Deidara regretted wearing a vest instead of a blazer. But then Zetsu opened the trunk of the limousine and gestured at it.

"Wear these,"

It was the same long black cloak that Kakuzu was wearing. Deidara got one and held it up to himself. Then he put his arms through and put it on. It fit him perfectly.

"We have a uniform now?" Hidan said. He pulled off his white shirt right there, tossed it into the trunk, and pulled the cloak on, unbuttoned. Deidara only buttoned his at the neck. Pein and Zetsu waited until they were done, and then started to walk towards the third biggest ship at the dock. Konan stood at the top of the stairs that led onto the deck of it.

"Good evening," she said.

Deidara stared at her. She was still wearing that dress, but she was wearing the cloak on top. It couldn't hide her figure.

They all walked up the stairs, Hidan groaning as he stepped. The limousine drove away. Once they were all on board, two uniformed crew members pressed a button and the stairs withdrew themselves. There was a heavy, loud _clunk _as they fitted into place again.

"This way,"

Konan led them through a narrow corridor and into a large main room that looked to be a ball room. They shuffled past this and upstairs, which seemed to house rooms. They took a left, a right, and walked up another set of stairs, reaching a pair of oak double doors that looked almost exactly like the ones back in the Akatsuki building. She opened it, and it was just another bunch of rooms.

"There was a change of plans. The ship turned out to be a better option. We'll be traveling for a day, maximum, so make yourselves comfortable for the night,"

She turned to face Pein. "The office is ready,"  
Pein nodded and they both headed off. They rest of them just stood there until Hidan yawned loudly.

"Fuck this shit," he said. "I need to do my rituals, and I don't even have a fucking knife. Where's the kitchen, goddammit?"

He walked forwards and as he passed a room, he said "Oh, hey Kisame," then kept walking. The place was opulent, but nobody really seemed to appreciate their surroundings.

Itachi sat behind a closed door. He heard the rest of them walk around, their steps creaking slightly on the wooden floorboards. He was wearing the cloak, and by now he knew he was in some really deep shit, but he didn't know what he should do. He'd told him time and time again to just go along with it. Maybe he could uncover them, stop them—it certainly was the worse option to leave. He heard a door slam closed.

Deidara glanced at Sasori, who looked like he would jump out of skin any moment somehow.

_He must be excited _Deidara thought with some amusement. He'd never seen Sasori excited…he'd never seen the redhead look anything but bored or condescending.

"Hmph. More waiting," Sasori nevertheless said in a clipped tone. He walked towards a room he knew was empty. Deidara stood there, alone. He looked around himself, and found that Zetsu had disappeared somehow. The lights dimmed a little. Deidara walked to the room directly opposite Sasori's, when a door opened behind him, to his left. The blonde turned around.

_Itachi. _

They both exchanged a charged glance. Itachi ran his eyes over Deidara, and couldn't help but admit with irritation that he looked damn good. Sakura probably swooned at the sight of it, which bothered Itachi, because it only served to strengthen his notion that Deidara was trying to seduce her and maybe make her do things she normally wouldn't do with just any guy. Itachi opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, knowing Deidara couldn't see it because it was hidden by the standing collar of the cloak.

"Good night, Itachi," Deidara finally said. He took one step into his room.

"Stop,"

Deidara froze. He turned slowly to look at the Uchiha again.

"What do you want, hm?"

"So sorry you got that call," Itachi said slowly. Even though the words sounded bitchy, he didn't sound it. "I guess you missed your chance,"

Deidara's stomach tightened into a knot. He narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about,"

_Itachi, I know she likes you. But you can't have her. _

"I know what you're doing,"  
"No, un," Deidara stepped away from his room and closer to Itachi. "I know what _you_ are doing. What are you doing in Akatsuki, huh?"

_He doesn't want me around…_Itachi thought. _I'm in his way. _

Itachi brushed some hair away from his face.

_He didn't expect me to be in Akatsuki. _

"First job here, too," Deidara scoffed. "Are all you Uchiha like that?"

Itachi felt something inside him tick. He knew just how infamous his clan was for being assholes, thinking themselves above the law, and he knew him being in Akatsuki served only as an exemplification. Therefore nothing he could say would effectively counter Deidara's question. But since the truth was that he hadn't known about the cracks in the righteousness of Akatsuki, he knew that even if Deidara didn't believe him, at least he was being true to himself.

"No,"

Deidara snorted, but said nothing else.

_I should have known, because he's an Uchiha. They're all like him…yeah. All in search of power, with no care for anybody around him._

"You're no better," Itachi said.

Deidara felt one of his mouths dribble a little onto his hand.

"I'm…," Deidara wanted to say _I'm being forced, therefore I'm not like the rest of you fuckheads, _but he knew just how weak that made him sound. So he didn't. "Whatever,"

Itachi could tell there was a lot more on the Iwa's mind, and wondered what Deidara had been about to say before he stopped himself.

"I had a great night, you know that, Itachi, hm?" Deidara announced. He smiled. It was a genuinely happy smile. "Sakura's great company,"

Itachi ran his tongue along his teeth, trying to calm himself down, stamping down the urge he felt to punch Deidara in the face. Deidara looked at him and raised his eyebrows, as if he was saying _bring it on, _but neither of them actually made a move.

"Speaking of which, I have to call her," Deidara said. He held up his normal phone and waved it a little in front of Itachi. "Once again, good night, Itachi. I hope your brother isn't disappointed in you, un,"

And with that, Deidara closed his door quietly. It clacked shut.

Itachi stood in the hallway. He thought of Sasuke—he'd left his brother a note taped on the mirror in the bathroom. He had a feeling Sasuke wouldn't really care, but...Deidara had actually said something profound. Sasuke was always flawless in hiding his true feelings, his true intentions, and Itachi actually pondered over whether or not Sasuke would feel _disappointed _if he found out Itachi was in the Akatsuki…the nasty branch of it.

_No…Sasuke would be fine with it. I'm sure—_

Itachi's head snapped up. Hidan came around the corner, carrying a heavy black box that was obviously a knife set. The Jashinist glanced at him and held up the box like a trophy.

"Two serrated, one generic butcher's knife, those fucking little ones that you use to cut bread, and one carving knife," he proclaimed like Itachi would give a shit. Itachi hadn't been told directly, but he knew what the Akatsuki were up to. He wasn't stupid. They'd left him to figure it out on his own, and he'd wondered why they went to so much trouble masking it from him and then unveiling it not too long after. Maybe they didn't want to chase him off upfront, because if they did, he wouldn't have the astringent feeling to stay. They had planned it well.

Itachi didn't know why exactly Hidan needed knives, but nothing surprised him about Akatsuki anymore.

"What's with you, eh? You look like someone ate your cake," Hidan put down the box on a small table nearby. "Can't sleep?"

Itachi shook his head.

"O-kay," Hidan wrinkled his nose and itched it furiously. "My nose is so fucking itchy,"

Itachi said nothing. The Jashinist shrugged at him, picked up his knife box again, and walked past the Uchiha to his own room.

Deidara buried his head in his hands. He wanted to take off the cloak, but it was cold. He'd tried to call Sakura, but she hadn't picked up, and he was starting to get the feeling he fucked the night up. He rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn. He got up and looked at himself in the portrait mirror behind his door. He pulled the hairband from his ponytail and shook his hair out, coming through it with his fingers.

He heard a loud clank to his right. He was pretty sure that room was Hidan's, so he ignored it. He was a Jashinist, after all. He was about to head into the bathroom and wash his face when his phone rang. He walked over quickly and pressed _end call. _Then he called Sakura back.

"Hey,"

A rustle, then; "Hey, you. I was in the shower,"  
"That's okay, un," Deidara sat down on the bed. It bounced a little under his weight. "So you got home safely?"

"Yeah, of course,"

A pause.

"I'm sorry about tonight,"

"No! Jesus, it's okay, Deidara,"

"But still," Deidara ran a hand through his hair again. "I didn't expect…you know,"

"Tonight was perfect already,"

Deidara's face froze. Then a grin crept across his face, and he looked like nothing in the world could make him happier. "Really?"

"Yes," Sakura said earnestly. "It really was,"

She thought of their knees against each other and blushed.

"So what did Sasori want?"

"Oh," Deidara's mood plummeted again. "He just…you know. Needed help,"

"That's good. I thought it might've been something bad since it sounded so urgent,"  
_It _is_ bad. You don't know how bad it is. _Deidara wanted to tell her, but he knew he couldn't possibly do such a thing. Not while he was on a ship run by fucking Akatsuki. What if they had listening devices and tiny security cameras in each of their rooms? It was paranoid of him to think so, but it was probable.

"Nah. It was nothing,"

"So are you at home?"

Deidara looked at his surroundings. The ship hadn't started moving yet, but he could feel the vibration of the engines beneath him.

"Yeah. I am," he lied, feeling guilt thud inside him.

"Well, I have to talk to my mum," Sakura said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"  
"Yeah. Good night?"

"Good night, Deidara. Sweet dreams!"

And before he could say anything, she'd hung up. He looked at his phone.

"You too," he said to nobody, his voice bittersweet in the emptiness of the room.


	34. The Two Younger Brothers

_**The following morning**_

"Arghh…," Deidara rolled his head from side to side and then forced them open. He sat up and rubbed them. He'd apparently fallen asleep on top of the covers, with his black cloak still on. He stumbled to the bathroom, his eyes squinting in the sunlight that was streaming through his window. He could hear the sloshing of ocean water around the ship.

_Fuck. _So it hadn't been a dream: he was really aboard the ship that Akatsuki had prepared. He fumbled around and found a simple toothbrush in a plastic sleeve. He tore that open and got to brushing his teeth. He heard walking outside his room. Low murmurs. He spat out the toothpaste and water and rinsed out his mouth with Listerine. Then he unpinned the cloak from around his neck and tossed it on top of a nearby basket. He unbuttoned his vest and then removed the constricting tie. He put that on top of the cloak, and then looked at himself critically in the mirror. He looked fine, but inside he felt like shit. He sneezed loudly and groaned a little. He shook his head and then walked out, leaving his two mobiles on the bedside desk.

The hallway was empty, but all the room doors were open. Everybody had obviously went away somewhere. Deidara looked around, turned a corner, and almost collided with Itachi.

"Shit! Sorry," Deidara said instantly, without thinking. Then he looked up and saw that it was an Uchiha, and immediately his mouth pulled into a grim line.

"It's you," he said.

Itachi said nothing for a while, just looked at him. Looking closely, It seemed like the Iwa had had a rough night, and was on the verge of catching a cold or something.

"We're upstairs," he finally said. Deidara just nodded, feeling awkward. He followed Itachi up a winding set of stairs and they reached a set of oak double doors that looked unsurprisingly like the ones Pein had back in the Akatsuki building. Itachi pushed one open to reveal a cavernous room in the centre of which was a long rectangular table. There were the exact number of chairs for each of them, and the hugest LCD screen Deidara had ever seen took up one wall. Everybody was seated, but nobody was talking. Deidara wondered if they'd all been waiting for him. He sat across from Sasori with a touch of embarrassment—a glance from his danna only served to make the feeling worse—and Pein immediately began talking.

"You don't know this, but the information we need to get started has been issued. Accordingly…we will begin,"

"About fucking time," Hidan said. He was flipping through a clip folder that was in front of them all. "That snitch of yours is too slow,"

"My agent is reliable," Pein said without a hint of annoyance. Deidara had to give him credit for that. "And the ability to leak information at his rate is unforseen…especially at the discretion he exercises,"

"Pft. Whatever,"

"In any case…he has advised us not to target Shukaku or Kyuubi, which is a disappointment. I wanted to do this chronologically,"

_He's all about order, isn't he? _Deidara thought.

"We can do it even with the ANBU keeping tighter holds on Shukaku," Kisame boomed. Pein shook his head.

"No. It is of utmost priority that we do not attract attention towards ourselves,"

"But the Jinchuuriki are so fucking widespread, how will they know _we're _the ones that attacked them? As far as anybody'll know, it was a simple murder," Hidan protested.

"I agree," Sasori said in his soft voice. "There are no other links between these…Jinchuuriki, I believe? Therefore their deaths are unidentifiable as a string of murders by the same people unless the public knew about their Bijuu, which, by this report is highly secretive information known only by the Hokage and ANBU,"

Pein nodded. "Yes, that is true. However, I think the misunderstanding is that we are only hiding from the public—we are not. We cannot risk the ANBU on our tails either,"

"Was that a pun, Pein-sama?" Tobi leaned forward teasinginly. "On our tails? Because we are we are trying to catch the tailed beasts? Haha!"

Nobody bat an eyelash, but Deidara did roll his eyes at the bad reference Tobi just made. The Blonde leaned forward because what Sasori had said…and subsequently, what Pein had said…had turned on a light bulb inside him, sparking that darkly strategic cunning in him that he always wished never existed.

"They will notice that somebody is after the Jinchuuriki even after the first kill, hmmm…I doubt it would even make it past their preliminary meetings that it was a completely random murder: it will take a very powerful person to take even one of them down, yeah? So circumstantially, if it was to be a murder that wasn't associated with them being a Jinchuuriki, un, the person would have to have picked them out of the hundreds of thousands _easier _and _weaker _options and somehow successfully slay them and dispose of their body,"

All eyes had turned to him as he spoke. He felt Itachi's eyes on him and had to return his gaze.

_Don't underestimate _me, _Uchiha. The only reason I spoke up was to assure you I'm no easy target. _Otherwise, Deidara didn't really have a strong interest in this…killing. It still made him feel nervous.

"…Deidara's right," Pein said eventually. "They will start reacting at the first kill…We will attack the weakest link first,"

"But will that not serve to make it more obvious?" Kakuzu said in his deep, alien voice. "That we deliberately struck the weakest? It'll make it highly apparent we have a plan to take all of them out,"

"I agree with you, Kakuzu, but we must not bite off more than we can chew and strike Kyuubi or Shukaku…we must not get ahead of ourselves. What if we suffer permanent damages from it? Lose a valuable member? Then we cannot proceed on the rest of the plan, and we will have failed from the get-go. Therefore we must start from the easiest point on the game board,"

"Recall that we've already got Yagura," Konan said. "But his was an accidental death, truly," she added, looking solemnly at Itachi. "The ANBU really thought he was hostile, and had him down as easily influential from the beginning. Therefore his death was not as suspicious,"

"Not _as _suspicious, hey?" Hidan scoffed. "But they've reacted, haven't they?"

"This is the part that surprises me," Pein said. "We have the body…but the ANBU, according to our source, are not in a flurry over it,"

"They really believe the kid has just run off?" Kisame asked.

"Yes…or so our source claims,"

"We must first work on locating Han, the five-tails," Konan said. "Of course we'll be finding the others at the same time, but…,"

_Shukaku…Shukaku…_

The term bothered Deidara. He'd heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where. He wondered if the Akatsuki knew, but by the sounds of it, they didn't really. They already said the security around the one-tail was tight.

"Who is going to get Han?" Pein questioned nobody in particular. His eyes rested over Itachi. Konan had warned him that maybe Itachi wasn't up for it, but Pein could see it in the Uchiha's eyes. It ran in his blood to kill.

"Itachi and Kisame,"

"Fuck!" Hidan slammed his fist down on the table. "Kisame! You lucky bastard!"

"Calm down, Hidan," Pein droned from the head of the table. "You and Kakuzu will be continuing your normal jobs…before Kakuzu's arrest,"

There was an awkward silence. Itachi fought the urge to stand up and leave. He could not believe that he'd just been asked to assassinate some guy, but wasn't about to back out. He'd done many things he'd regretted in life, and this was just going to be another one of them, right?

"But isn't he just on bail?" white Zetsu inquired. "Aren't there conditions he needs to satisfy? You know, I'm surprised he doesn't have a couple dozen FBI tailing his every move,"  
"Bail can pretty much be a release if you know the right people," Pein answered. He stood up. "Some of you might have thought it was pointless to come out to sea just to have this discussion…but unfortunately, I'm afraid our odd gathering of people have caught the eye of some people. And with the advent of Kakuzu's release, that will only make us even more distrustful. I cannot risk the company's image. We get too many of our funds from it,"

"Who has seen us, Pein?" black Zetsu rasped. "Surely, nothing more than a blue-collar citizen here and there,"

"Yes, many of them…mere passers-by. Not much of a threat. But what if that amount accumulates? Then rumours will circulate, and once again Akatsuki will be on front headlines," he paused, then looked at Itachi. "And Itachi, keep an eye on that younger brother of yours,"

_What? _Itachi narrowed his eyes just slightly in reaction, but Pein noticed it right away. What did Sasuke have to do with this?

"He saw the gathering outside the café yesterday night," Pein explained. "And I have reason to believe he's capable of putting two and two together and coming up with four,"

"You think he'll tell on us, Pein-sama?" Tobi joked. "A boy like him?"

"If he stops us, it's not like he can take down all of us," Kisame added.

"…be that as it may, he is Itachi's younger brother," Pein glanced at Konan. "I'm just saying. Itachi, if your brother figures out that you're participating in these meetings, he might do a little investigative work,"

Itachi nodded. That sounded like Sasuke alright—and Itachi definitely couldn't let that happen. He'd moved himself and his younger brother to this new city to start anew and avoid the drama that happened at their hometown—it would be the ultimate, damaging blow if Sasuke found out Itachi was involved in something even more dramatic. _But I did not choose to be in this…no. Sasuke would not believe that if I said it. _

"And we can't risk any more people knowing about the Jinchuuriki and the ANBU," Pein finished. He stood up. "We'll be heading for the docks soon. We're not that far from it, anyway. Itachi and Kisame, stay with me. The rest of you can leave,"

Deidara got up with a moan because his muscles ached. Hidan did more or less the same thing. There were gashes in his chest and arms, and Deidara couldn't help but wince. It was a wonder they weren't bleeding all over the place.

"Get a good night's sleep, Deidara?" the Jashinist asked him, grinning. "I did,"

"That's great," Deidara mumbled in response. They walked down the stairs to their rooms when his stomach growled.

"Aw, look who's hungry," Hidan teased. Then he looked up and down the hallway seriously. "I'm fucking ravenous too. Where the fuck is the food?"

"It's in the restaurant," Zetsu pushed past them. "Down that way, take a left. It's a buffet,"

"C'mon blondie let's go," Hidan patted Deidara roughly on the shoulder and led the way, following Zetsu's instructions. He could sense Sasori following him.

"Itachi, you are a most reluctant member. But I have trust in you,"

Itachi said nothing.

_This is wrong…but…how else can I stop them if I am not a part of them? _

"Are you willing to undertake this first mission?"

_Sasuke, I'm sorry. But I have to. _He thought of Sakura as well, and Deidara. What Deidara could do if Itachi wasn't around to bother him.

He nodded slowly. "Yes,"

"I told you," Kisame crossed his arms with a little arrogance. "He'll come around,"

_For the good of the city…and…because I have to stop Deidara. _Deidara seemed like such a miniscule and insignificant issue contrasted with the fate of the city at the hands of Akatsuki, but he was a problem to be overcome nevertheless.

"Excellent," Pein purred. "Once my source confirms the location and schedule of Han's movements, you will both be dispatched immediately,"

_Who is your source? _Itachi wanted to ask. But he didn't. He figured he would probably get an answer out of Kisame later.

"You can both leave now. I need to talk to Hidan and Kakuzu later in my office, please tell them that,"

_**Much later that day **_

Suigetsu sighed heavily as the hot water ran over his naked body. He angled his face up to face the torrent of water. It was a Sunday, and like most other Sundays, he'd spent it lazing around and pretty much doing nothing. He was waiting for Mangetsu to get home, because the ramen bar closed early on Sundays.

He reached over and turned the knobs back the other way. The gush of water stopped. Suigetsu stepped out of the shower, reached for a towel and wiped himself. He wrapped the towel around his hips and stepped out. It was only around 4 o'clock. He'd done a lot of thinking that day, about Mangetsu. How he was _still _continuing with the Akatsuki-ANBU thing. He knew his brother was in close ties with the ANBU, even _worked _with them…but now he was trading their secrets for money. Mangetsu had never really been the materialistic type, so it got Suigetsu wondering why he took the risk. He was walking past his brother's room when something made him stop in his steps. He doubled back and entered the room.

_That notebook…where is it? _He'd always seen his brother writing away in notebooks. And they were always the plain type. Plain black. And obviously it had something to do with the ANBU. Definitely not the ramen shop. And definitely not a diary. Suigetsu looked around the room before starting to search, keeping his eyes peeled for noise. What was so important to Mangetsu that he was being a double-cross agent? Suigetsu wanted to know. Was information on the ANBU really that valuable?

There was nothing in or on his desk. Suigetsu moved to the bookshelf and scanned that, but nothing was there. He knew for a fact it wasn't in the file cabinet Mangetsu kept for the ramen shop, because Suigetsu had accessed that before when he was helping his older brother calculate funds, and that happened frequently. So he gave that a miss. He'd look at it as a last resort. He checked under Mangetsu's mattress and in his pillow cases, even though Suigetsu knew they weren't exactly the ideal hiding spots for something so important. Then he moved to Mangetsu's closet—it was almost identical to the one he had in his own room. He slid it open. Clothes. He brushed these aside and shuffled through the boxes beneath them. Shoe boxes filled with folded scarves, beanies, gloves, and, of course, shoes. Socks. Random books about ramen.

_Dammit. _Suigetsu was starting to doubt that Mangetsu would keep them in his room when his fingers brushed against a loose piece of carpet beneath one of the shoeboxes he'd just lifted up. He was about to feel beneath it when he heard the lock turn in the front door. Suigetsu jumped up immediately, replaced everything as best he could, slid the door shut again and leaped out, racing to his own room just as the front door was pushed open.

"Hey!" Suigetsu faked surprise. "You home?"

Mangetsu put the keys in the fruit bowl. "Yeah,"

He looked up in the direction of Suigetsu's room. "How are you?" he asked, diluting his concern.

"I'm good. How was work?"

Suigetsu tried to calm his nerves. He didn't get caught after all. He let out a slow, shuddering breath and walked out. Mangetsu came up the stairs.

"Normal,"

"Okay," Suigetsu gulped. "Um. I'm going to do my homework,"

Mangetsu grunted and headed to his own room. Suigetsu opened his own notebook and chewed nervously on his thumb nail, hoping Mangetsu wouldn't notice anything. Suigetsu was pretty sure he'd put everything back anyway.

"Suigetsu…,"

_Shit! _Suigetsu's heart did a little jump and he tried to look casual as his brother appeared in his doorway, looking serious. His heart raced. _What did I leave behind? _If Mangetsu found out that he'd been rooting through his room, he'd probably hide the notebooks somewhere else. Which meant Suigetsu would never have the chance to—

"Have you seen my old marketing textbook?"

_Huh? _Suigetsu wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. "No, I haven't," he said, the giddiness creeping into his voice. He cleared his throat. "Why?"

"Friend of mine's sister is doing marketing in university," Mangetsu walked off and his voice went quieter as he headed down the stairs. "I'm giving it to her, that's all,"

"Check the garage," Suigetsu yelled, then went back to chewing his thumbnail.

_That was close, _he thought.

* * *

"You're back," Sasuke stepped aside to let Itachi come through. His brother had apparently forgotten his keys the night before.

_The night before…where did he spend the night? _

Sasuke thought of Deidara, Sasori, Hidan and that other man gathering outside the café.

"Yeah," Itachi wasn't really in the mood for talking. He put his bag down on the couch and sat down on it, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. He knew he owed his brother some explanation, but he couldn't be fucked. Not with Han on his mind.

Sasuke watched Itachi closely. He was showing signs of fatigue and worry. "Where were you last night?"

Itachi opened his eyes just a bit. He recalled Pein's words about how Sasuke had seen some of them. Itachi was torn. He didn't know whether to tell the truth or to lie: if he told the truth, Sasuke would be hell mad at him, but at least he'd know upfront. If he lied, Sasuke wouldn't know, but then later if he ever found out, he would hate Itachi even more for lying about it.

"I was…on a ship,"

"Ship?"

"Dinner party,"

Sasuke nodded.

_Was Deidara there too? _He wanted to ask. But what if his hunches were wrong? Then he would just sound stupid.

"What about you?"  
Sasuke frowned. "Me?"

"Dinner last night,"

"Oh," Sasuke shrugged. "It was fine,"

Itachi had expected more, considering he knew his brother was sharp as a tack. Sharper, even. He knew Sasuke wanted to ask more.

"I'm going to take a shower,"

Itachi grabbed his bag and went upstairs. Sasuke eyed him carefully, then focused on his bag. The younger Uchiha waited until he heard Itachi's door close, then he went back to the kitchen counter where he'd plugged in his laptop. He took a sip of water as he read the new message from Suigetsu that had popped up on his screen.

SuigetsuH: Sasuke, help me with English!

Sasuke suppressed a small smile. It was a wonder that he and Suigetsu were helping each other with assignments—well, _he _was helping Suigetsu with assignments—when they'd started off as complete enemies. He typed a response.

Sasuke10: Do it yourself.

He finished his water and went to the sink and rinsed it out. Then he went back to his laptop.

SuigetsuH: No, seriously. I'm coming over to yours. There's some weird shit going on with my bro. I need to talk to someone, or I'm going to go crazy.

Sasuke typed 'okay'. There was a long pause. He assumed Suigetsu had gone to change, since he hadn't gone offline just yet.

SuigetsuH: You just live in the penthouses above Kimimaro's, yeah? Which one?

Sasuke10: I'll wait for you outside the elevators.

SuigetsuH: Yeah okay. But be prepared to help me with English too. Be there in ten.

–**SuigetsuH is offline –**

Sasuke heard the shower turn on upstairs. He looked down at what he was wearing and shrugged. It was just Suigetsu. The younger Uchiha walked around his house for no reason, just passing time, and then walked outside. He waited in the foyer on his level, watching the elevators travel up and down. The one of the left caught his eye as it zoomed past level 15, 16, 17, and stopped at his level. The door opened and Suigetsu stepped out with his helmet under one arm, a backpack and a bag from the convenience store outside the apartment.

"I'm hungry, and I didn't wanna just come and eat your food, so I got snacks," he explained hastily. Sasuke just nodded and led him to the Uchiha penthouse. Suigetsu whistled as he kicked off his shoes.  
"Nice house," he commented. He walked over to Sasuke's laptop and sat across from him, putting his stuff down. "Your brother's home, hey?"

"Yeah, in the shower,"

"I bought yoghurt. My favourite," Suigetsu peeled back one of the lids on a large tub of mango and peach yoghurt and sorted around in the bag until he found a plastic spoon. "Anyways, first things first, before your bro gets out of the shower,"

He spooned some yoghurt into his mouth and smacked his lips loudly in enjoyment, even though his eyes looked grave. "He looks busier nowadays—with the Aka…tsuki stuff," he said. "And I just wondered, how much shit can you tell Akatsuki about ANBU? It's not like the Akatsuki can do anything but grab a bunch of lawyers on them, right?"

_No, _Sasuke thought.

"And why would the Akatsuki care? I mean, yeah, they've always hated the ANBU because they've destroyed their shipments a couple times for fun, but there was just never enough evidence. Even if Mangetsu tells them info, it's just hearsay. He said she said sort of thing. It won't work,"

Suigetsu shuddered a little and shook his head, nevertheless continuing to eat his yoghurt. "It freaks the fuck out of me every time I see him do it,"

"Do…?"

"He writes it all down," Suigetsu explained. "The info he picks up. Then he hands it over to Akatsuki. The fact that it's written just drives me crazy,"

Above their heads, the toilet flushed.

"Your brother," Suigetsu said. "He works for Hotel Taka, right?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Then he must know about Akatsuki. Does he tell you anything?"

"No…," _he never tells me anything. _

"That sucks," Suigetsu sighed heavily and put the spoon down. "I was hoping for something—anything,"

_How about he was gone for the whole night…on a "dinner party"? Would that even help? Or that Deidara was with Zetsu? Is that even relevant? _

Sasuke hadn't answered Suigetsu because his questions hadn't been answered either, and he wasn't even sure they were sayable questions.

"Hey,"

Sasuke looked up. Suigetsu had just greeted Itachi, who was carrying his now empty coffee flask over to the sink.

"Hello,"

"Just getting Sasuke's help with English," Suigetsu lied. He pushed a USB Sasuke hadn't seen him take out across the counter. "Check mine out for me,"

Sasuke took it and shrugged. Suigetsu smiled at him discreetly and kept eating his yoghurt.


	35. He Knew Too Much

_**Monday**_

Sakura turned and walked the other way when she saw Hinata. She gritted her teeth and hoped the Hyuuga won't jog up to her or call her name. She'd spent the whole weekend basking in the loved-up sunshine Deidara had poured upon her, but then she was paging through one of her notebooks and out slipped a note she and Hinata had passed during a particularly boring lesson. Upon reading it, Sakura had seen her old self in action, teasing Hinata about Deidara. She'd scrunched it up and put it in the wastepaper basket, not wanting to look at it again. And now she felt like shit.

The whole of Sunday, she hadn't heard from Deidara, and the café was closed. It was like he'd disappeared off the face of the Earth. _Relax, _she thought. _It was only one day. He has a life._

She turned into the school gate to see Kiba talked animatedly to a bored looking Sasuke, who did nothing but nod. Sakura joined them, even though she wanted to avoid Hinata.

"Hey guys,"

"Sup," Kiba said. He looked her up and down, as if checking her out. "You look kind of…happy. What happened? Did you get laid?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head disapprovingly at him. "_No. _I just…had a good weekend,"

"Cool," Sasuke droned. Sakura heard the crunching of dirt beneath feet behind her and braced herself.

"Heyyy, Hinata," Kiba stood up immediately and grinned widely at her. "How was your weekend? Sakura had a good one, apparently,"

"That's really nice to hear," Hinata blushed slightly from Kiba's attention and nudged Sakura. "Do tell me about it later, okay?"

"S…sure," Sakura shrugged Hinata off.

Sasuke sighed quietly. He wanted class to start so the day could end sooner.

A couple metres to their right, Suigetsu zoomed in and parked his motorcycle next to a red car. Sasuke didn't bother going over to greet him. The Hōzuki patted himself down to see if he'd forgotten anything and then walked towards one of the buildings when Neji came up to him. The siren inside Sasuke's head immediately went off, and all thoughts of Itachi, Mangetsu, Deidara and Akatsuki left his mind. He'd almost forgotten he had this one other issue to deal with.

"Neji?" Suigetsu had been feeling so on top of the world last Friday and Saturday he hadn't really remembered how caged he felt around Neji. He took a deep breath and prepared himself.

_I don't have to listen to you anymore, do I? Not with Sasuke. He can blackmail _you _about what he knows…about what you do to me. _

His thoughts were confident, but one look into Neji's eyes and he felt exposed again. Like Neji knew more, and was about to act on it.

"Do you really think you can avoid me that easily?" Neji asked in a tone that nobody knew he could muster. A tone that belonged to a bully. "Enlisting Sasuke's help,"

Suigetsu made an irritated noise.

"You can't do anything anymore,"

"I can," Neji shot back. "I can keep doing what I'm doing as long as your brother keeps his hands full of Akatsuki,"

Suigetsu couldn't answer him because he knew what Neji said was true.

"Sasuke can expose you,"

"What does Sasuke know?" Neji said with a raised eyebrow, clearly unfazed. "Even if he knew everything, nobody will believe him. I spent my whole life building a credible reputation for this very reason,"

"But Sasuke's reputation is the same as yours. People trusted him as much as you ever since he saved the kid in the toilet,"

"And who will people believe? Me? Or the new boy?" Neji's shoulders relaxed as he breathed out. "The answer is clear,"

"You…you're…,"

"If you have to lay blame, blame your brother,"  
Suigetsu threw a punch. Neji blocked it as if he'd foreseen it from the moment he approached Suigetsu.

"Careful," the Hyuuga said calmly. The corner of his mouth turned up in half a smile. "Don't step on the wrong people's toes. The Hōzuki are a reckless bunch, aren't they?"

Suigetsu let out a yell and was about to throw another punch with his free hand when Sasuke stepped up and held him back by the shoulder.

"Suigetsu," he said.

Neji's eyes moved from Suigetsu to Sasuke, who stood there looking ever so calm. It annoyed Neji.

Sasuke didn't say anything. He pushed Suigetsu gently back. The Hōzuki's face was contorted into one of annoyance and humiliation, and Sasuke could immediately tell Neji had said something against his family. He'd worn that expression often when somebody told _him _something he didn't want to hear about his clan, the Uchihas.

"You do not have to say anything, Sasuke," Neji said at last. "I know what you're here for," he nodded at Suigetsu. "In which case, you know what you are delving into, right?"

Sasuke nodded. He could tell his own aloofness was getting on Neji's nerves, because the Hyuuga kept glancing in contempt at Suigetsu.

"You are a fool then,"

"At least I'm not a coward,"

Neji's eyes flashed. "What?"

"I don't have to get other people to do what I want to do," Sasuke answered, indicating Neji's employment of Suigetsu to harm the school's image rather than doing it himself.

"Hmph. I'm afraid your logic is flawed. That means Suigetsu is a coward,"

"No…," Sasuke shook his head slowly. "People aren't cowards when they are doing something in order to protect those they love,"

Neji said nothing. Sasuke looked at him for a little while longer, then turned to Suigetsu. "Let's go,"

"You don't know what you are getting into, Sasuke Uchiha," Neji said to their backs. "I know more about you than you think,"

* * *

"Ignore him,"

"I _can't. _I need to kill him,"

"Suigetsu," Sasuke stopped walking and stood in front of the Hōzuki, looking at him sternly. "The more you do, the more he has to act on,"

Suigetsu huffed in annoyance. Sasuke glanced back in the direction of Neji, but he had gone.

_What did he mean that he knew more about me than I thought? He can't be talking about…_

"I just wish he would fucking jump off a cliff somewhere," Suigetsu grumbled. He waved absentmindedly at Sasuke and then trudged off. Sasuke decided to leave him alone to cool off for now.

_He can't be talking about what…Itachi did. Or is doing? _If Neji knew about Mangetsu's connection with the Akatsuki, was it possible he also knew about Itachi? Sasuke shook his head lightly and decided to head to class early.

Suigetsu, on the other hand, couldn't take it anymore. He turned back again and headed for his motorbike. He didn't bother clipping the helmet around his head. He just kicked off and sped out the school's front gates, angry tears at the corner of his eyes. The thing was, it wasn't even _Neji _that bothered him so much: it was the fact that Mangetsu did what he did. Sure, Neji threatened him with it, but the root of the problem was definitely Mangetsu. The Hyuuga was just oil to the flame. If Mangetsu didn't go to the Akatsuki while being part of the ANBU, Neji wouldn't have such an oppressive hold over him. This, of course, did not render Neji not an asshole. He still was, but Suigetsu didn't want to think about _him _anymore. He was just blaming Mangetsu for _letting _this happen to him at school. Not that the older brother knew that he was being bullied. _But he must've known...MUST'VE...that his actions would've had some adverse effect on me...that idiot. Fucking idiot. _

He stopped outside he and Mangetsu's house—not the new apartment he bought—and suddenly thought he would settle it once and for all. He drove the motorbike around the corner and parked it there, so Mangetsu wouldn't see it and know he was home. Suigetsu walked up and went into the house through the back entrance, because Mangetsu was out the front. He took two steps at a time and went straight into his brother's room. He glanced at the front door and then threw open Mangetsu's closet. Threw aside his shoeboxes and then lifted up the loose piece of carpet.

A black notebook.

He quickly reached for it and after a moment's hesitation opened it.

_The ANBU have received word that Kakuzu has been released—a bold move. I have to congratulate the Akatsuki for the risks they take. The ANBU are indeed in frenzy over it. But they have no more people that they can use to tighten security even more. This means nothing has changed in the battlefield._

_Kakuzu? Released? _Suigetsu thought. _Since when did that happen? _

_Therefore, by all means, it is safe to proceed with the five-tailed Jinchuuriki, Han. _

Suigetsu closed the notebook and tried to make sense of what he'd just read. _Jinchuuriki? They still exist? _He, like most others in the city, had assumed that they'd all disappeared somehow. No word about them had been uttered for ten years. _And the ANBU? Aren't they…mafia? Or like it? Why would they need to tighten security on…the Jinchuuriki?_ _Unless…_

_The ANBU know the location of the Jinchuuriki? _

Suigetsu brought his hand up to his mouth and gnawed on his thumb nail again. _That's stupid. The ANBU aren't…they…_

_They must be something else. _

Something inside his head ticked. An epiphany. _  
_

_They're not the mafia, they're—!_

"Hey, kid,"

Suigetsu dropped the notebook and looked at the doorway. A figure stepped into the light of the room, out from the shadows of the darkened hall.

"I don't think you should be reading that," Hidan said. "It's bad for you to know too fuckin' much,"

The Jashinist stepped aside. Something black shot at Suigetsu and that was the last thing he saw.

* * *

"Where's Hidan?"

Sasori shrugged and poured some oil into the wok.

"You know what he has to do now that Kakuzu is back,"

"So we're just going to deal without him again, un? Can we handle?" Deidara looked out at the cafe nervously from his vantage point in the kitchen. "You can cook too, danna?"

"Yes,"

"All of the things on the menu?"

Sasori made a noise that suggested he was annoyed by Deidara's persistent, worried questioning, and the blonde shut up. Clearly, Sasori knew more about food than he thought.

Deidara sighed and walked back out. He'd woken up and the day had proceeded like any other Monday would, but he knew it would never be the same. He kept thinking about Akatsuki, even though it wouldn't change a thing if he worried about it all the time. So he forced himself to think of Sakura, but that didn't help either, because Sakura meant Itachi and Itachi meant Akatsuki. There was no way out.

_Fuck this. _

Nevertheless, he was looking forward to the afternoon, when Sakura would come.

"I'M BACK!"

Deidara winced at the loud clang of Hidan's voice as it emanated from inside the kitchen, the Jashinist having entered from the back door. He glanced around the cafe, but nobody seemed to need help. He went inside.

"Where have you been?"

"What are you, my boss?" Hidan snapped as he put on an apron and tied the knot around his waist. "What do you think I was doing, eh?"

Deidara shrugged.

"But since we're all in Akatsuki, I guess I'll tell you," the Jashinist continued, lowering his voice. "Me and Kakuzu went to pay a little visit to our snitch. Pein said that since some of us clearly didn't think he was the most reliable little shithead on the block, we were 'free to go check his house' and blah blah blah. Argh, that leader talks too damn much. But anyway,"

Hidan paused for a moment as he took over Sasori at the stove and scanned the order on the piece of paper in front of him.

"Guess what we found? His little brother reading through his shit,"

"Little brother?"

"Yeah. So we knocked him out and took him back to Pein,"

_Huh. That's nice, _Deidara thought. Sasori blinked disinterestedly.

"So...what are we gonna do with him, un?"

"We're gonna keep him as a pet," Hidan answered sarcastically. "What the fuck do you think? We're gonna make sure he keeps his mouth shut,"

"By...?"

"Were you dropped as a baby or something? What's with all these stupid questions?"

Deidara shrugged. He didn't know why he was asking so many questions today. Maybe he was just jumpy and wanted to talk to get the nerves out.

"We're detaining him," Hidan nevertheless answered. "Keeping him locked up,"

Deidara felt kind of sorry for him. After all, it wasn't his fault his brother was a snitch, right?

_Well..hopefully they won't do anything to him, hmmm..._

Deidara headed back out distractedly, the lives of the innocent that were yet to be taken resting heavily on his mind.

* * *

"Suigetsu? Nah, haven't seen him,"

"Okay, thanks," Sasuke smiled briefly at Naruto. Unlike the rest of the class, they weren't talking about the group assignment coming up.

"Why are you looking for him anyways?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke sighed a little.

"I have questions," he answered simply.

"Oooh. Okay. Well, he always skips school. Like more than me and Kiba," Naruto chuckled. Sasuke nodded, his attention and interest in the Uzumaki already non-existent. He played with the corners of his textbook and wondered if Suigetsu was okay. Then he realized Neji should be in his class right now, but the Hyuuga was nowhere in sight.

_Taking advantage of Hiashi's leverage around here again, I suppose. _

Sasuke recalled the incident that morning. The look of hatred in Neji's eyes when he couldn't continue badgering Suigetsu because of Sasuke's intervention. Without even one of them in his sight, Sasuke felt kind of nervous that they were both facing off in an empty classroom. He hoped not. He glanced up to see if Asuma was watching, and, finding that his back was turned, he took out his mobile and tried to call Suigetsu.

He didn't pick up.

He knew that Suigetsu would've ended the call if he didn't want to pick up, and then text him asking why he called. But he wouldn't pick up, right?

_He's away from his phone. _Sasuke thought._ His teacher confiscated it. _

"Do you have Neji's number?"

"Huh? What'dja say? Sorry, Sasuke, I wasn't listening,"

_As usual, _Sasuke thought. Out loud, he asked: "Neji's number?"

"Neji? Oh yeah. Yeah, I got it," Naruto, too, checked if Asuma was facing them before he slipped out his phone. He pressed a few buttons and quickly read out the number to Sasuke, who punched it into his own mobile.

"Thanks,"

"No problemo,"

Sasuke stared at the mobile screen, hiding it behind his bag on the desk, wondering if Neji would pick up an unknown number call.

_It's worth a try. _

He pressed call.

And waited.

Neji did not pick up either. It just kept ringing.

_Okay...strange. But let's not make a mountain out of a molehill. _

He stopped the call and looked up to focus again.


	36. Stored Away

"Arghh…fuck,"

Suigetsu put a hand to his head. It pounded like crazy. He couldn't really feel his legs. He reached down with his other hand to make sure they were still there.

He didn't want to open his eyes. But he knew he had to. He opened one slowly, achingly.

Darkness.

_Where am I? _He remembered he'd passed out. He felt around and found he was cold, hard floor. Leaning against some sort of sack. He tried to sit up, but fell back down. Whoever had knocked him out had knocked him out good.

_Who…?_

He couldn't remember the faces, even though he'd seen one of them. He only remembered the voice.

"In there?"

"Yeah. You wanna see him or something?"

Deidara gulped a little.

"Uh. No. Not particularly, hm…I just need to get something,"

"Then stop asking about him, fuckhead,"

_But he's in our storage room…_Deidara shook his head in disapproval of the situation and glanced at Sasori. When Hidan said they were keeping the boy 'detained', he'd assumed that they'd already taken him somewhere in the Akatsuki building or on the ship or something. But as it turned out, the Jashinist was as unorganized as ever and he lugged him into the cafe's storage room.

"Um, danna? How do we get our…stuff…if he's in there?"

"How 'bout, go in and get it?" Hidan said. "What else can you fucking do?"

"Look, you're the one who brought him here, un,"

"Kakuzu told me to,"

_You could've just brought him to the Akatsuki building or something…_Deidara put a hand on the door knob, but hesitated. He'd heard some noises from inside, and it was obvious Suigetsu was conscious. He pressed the knob down slowly and pushed it open.

A sliver of light hit Suigetsu's eyes like a knife. He groaned and covered them. He couldn't open his eyes, so he didn't know where he was. But the smell was kind of familiar.

Deidara closed the door behind him. He could practically taste the uneasiness that permeated the room. He felt around for the light switch and pressed it.

_Suigetsu…_ Deidara had never talked to him before, but he'd heard about him. He knew Mangetsu—the ramen guy—and that this was his little brother. Even if he didn't know it, they looked so damn alike he would definitely be able to tell. The Iwa felt a pang of guilt, even though it hadn't been him who brought the Hōzuki here.

He was bleeding down one side of his head. Most of the blood had dried up however, and had soaked into his pale blue hair. Deidara cringed and suppressed the urge to walk over and wash it clean, because Hidan would never let him live it down that he helped one of Akatuski's captives. Suigetsu had his eyes squeezed shut, but Deidara could tell he was using his other senses to detect Deidara.

"Whoever you are, you're…," Suigetsu stopped midsentence and groaned. "…you'll pay,"  
Deidara felt nervous. He reached for a jar of coffee beans and considered just saying nothing and leaving. But he couldn't. He wasn't that type. He licked his lips and took a few tentative steps forward. Suigetsu jerked his head up in the direction of the noise, on guard despite the fact he was practically blind.

"What do you want?" he said. His eyelids shuddered as he tried to open them again, but his vision was foggy. All he could see were packed shelves and a bunch of …blonde hair.

_Blonde hair?_

"I…," Deidara shut himself up. What if he recognizes my voice? He knelt down in front of Suigetsu and put the coffee bean jar down gently on the ground. He gently peeled the Hōzuki's hand away from his face, which took a lot of force because Suigetsu was still wary.

"Gr…," Suigetsu didn't know what the hell was happening, but…he let the unknown guy push his hand away. He didn't know what was going on, true, but he decided that maybe resistance wasn't the best idea, especially in his state.

_I bet it was Hidan who did this._

"Ouch," he breathed. He glanced back at the door, but on hearing the clanks and clinks of Hidan working outside, he knew the Jashinist wasn't paying attention to whether or not he'd left the storage room.

Suigetsu winced when Deidara's fingers passed through the dried blood. He didn't know what kind of a wound it was, but it hurt like hell. Deidara patted his pockets for tissues, but he couldn't find any. Not that they would do him much good—what he needed was water.

_I can't stay in here for long. I need to get back out there, hm._

He straightened up again and opened one of the cardboard boxes down the other end of the room. He grabbed one of the bottled waters and placed it in Suigetsu's hand.

_That's all I can do for you._

He watched as Suigetsu put a hand cautiously on the bottle cap of the water, feeling it.

_I'm sorry, un._

* * *

It was three o'clock—the end of the school day—and Sasuke was getting antsy. He couldn't see Suigetsu's motorbike anywhere in the parking lot, which wasn't exactly an anomaly because the Hōzuki always sped off as fast as he could after the bell rang. He checked his phone again, but neither Neji or Suigetsu had bothered to call him back. Sasuke sighed quietly.

"Hey, Sasuke,"

Sakura nudged him gently with her elbow. "How was your day? We totally didn't have any classes together,"

Sasuke shrugged. "Yeah. It was alright,"

"I bet you're going to work on your assignments early," Sakura continued as they walked out the gate. Looking at Sasuke, she couldn't help but think of Itachi. She wondered what the older guy was doing, and was confused when her heart raced ahead of her again when she thought about him. She shouldn't be feeling like this, should she? After all, she'd admitted to herself quite happily a night ago that she liked Deidara.

Sasuke nodded distractedly. "Yeah,"

"Well…I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye!"

Sakura headed off in the other direction before Sasuke could respond, flustered. She didn't know if she should go to the café—would that seem a little clingy? But she always went there. So…

She pressed on. Before, she'd wanted to ask Sasuke to come with here again, since she didn't like going alone, but the Uchiha's presence was suffocating for some reason. Ten minutes later, she reached the café's front door and it was too late to turn away. She pushed the door open and braced herself.

Deidara looked up. And grinned tiredly.

"Hey," he said. "It's you,"

On seeing him, Sakura felt a million times lighter. But one look around the place made her think of Itachi again—after all, this was the first place she'd seen him. She walked forwards shyly despite herself and placed her hands nervously on the counter.

"Hey, Deidara,"

"How are you?" the Iwa asked. He looked like something was on his mind, but Sakura didn't want to ask. He wasn't the only one with problems.

"I'm great,"

"So, what do you want?" Deidara quickly thought of Suigetsu in the storage room and pushed it aside. He didn't know why the guy had such an impact on his conscience. He'd hoped Sakura would make a difference to his dreary day, but frankly, and unfortunately, she didn't.

"Um…I think I'll just take a milkshake. To go,"

"To go?" Deidara repeated. "You mean you're not staying, hmm?"

Sakura nodded. "I need to start an assignment,"

The blonde's face fell a little. "Oh, un. That's fine,"

He moved away hesitantly to make her milkshake. She hadn't needed to tell him what flavour, because she knew that he knew she always got strawberry. It gave her a tingling feeling. She looked around—the café was more packed than usual—and wanted to hit herself over the head with a shovel when Itachi came through the door.

_Oh shit._

She turned away quickly, pretending she hadn't seen him. Deidara looked up and narrowed his eyes.

_Him again. Great._

"Here's your shake," he slid it across the counter to Sakura. He smiled at her. "You don't have to pay,"  
"But—,"

"No buts, my pretty lady," Deidara joked loudly. Itachi walked over calmly. Sakura faked her surprise.

"Oh! Hey Itachi,"

The room felt like it had dropped a hundred degrees. Deidara looked like he wanted to punch the Uchiha. The Uchiha looked like he wanted to slit Deidara's throat. It left Sakura mightily confused.

_What's going on?_

"Yeah, hey Itachi," Deidara felt the sudden urge to be an asshole again. "Nice to see you again. It's been ages," he added the latter statement with extreme sarcasm. Itachi cleared his throat. Sakura took a sip of her milkshake.

"Where's…," Itachi looked at Sakura, then back at Deidara. "Hidan?"

_Hidan?_ Sakura thought. _You mean, the chef?_

"He's inside," Deidara said. Duh. "You need him?"

Itachi nodded. "Immediately,"

"Huh. I'll get him for you. Go around the back,"

Deidara looked at Sakura. "You gonna go start that assignment?"

The Haruno jumped a little. "Um…um yeah. See you both later, I guess,"

As she scurried away from the two, she thought what the heck was that? _Itachi…knows Hidan? And why is he and Deidara so cold to each other?_ And…she snuck a glimpse back at Itachi and Deidara through the glass as she walked away from the café. They looked so serious. And Deidara had basically told her to go away. She didn't know what was going on, but she didn't like the sound of it. She didn't let it bother her. After all, she was the queen of overanalysing. She pressed on down the street, taking sips of her free milkshake every now and then, wondering why her heart still felt like it was split in two even after that fantastic dinner, where she'd been positive that she liked Deidara more than Itachi. But what were these feelings that she had when she saw Itachi? _It's like whichever one I see is the one I like._

"I'm here to take…him…away,"

"That little Hōzuki shit?"

Itachi flinched a little, because that "little Hōzuki shit" had been sitting in his penthouse not too long ago. He felt like shit. Because Suigetsu was Sasuke's friend.

I cannot possibly be doing this…can I?

"He's in the storage room. Far as I know, he's still out,"

"He's not out, hm," Deidara put in. "He's awake,"

"Oh. Well he's tougher than I thought,"

There was a pause.

"Give him to me,"  
Deidara whipped around the corner and pushed the back door open, re-entering the kitchen. He dodged Sasori, who was bent over an oven, and walked into the storage room once more. Suigetsu had drunken some of the water, and had poured some over his wound. Murky puddles were around his feet. Deidara walked over and hauled him up carefully. Suigetsu's knees were weak and buckled a little.

"Careful," the Iwa said quietly, wanting to disguise his voice by keeping it soft. He waited until Suigetsu had steadied himself before walked out with him.

"Oh, you got to be fucking with me,"

Deidara looked up and saw Hidan stride over to them. In one smooth motion he had dumped Suigetsu over his shoulder, knocking the breath out of the Hōzuki.  
"You pussy," Hidan sauntered out. Deidara bit his lip.  
_  
He's right. I'm too worried about that kid._

But why? I don't even know him.

He looked around himself. At the cardboard boxes, the bags, the bottles. Today last week, he probably would've stood here just like he was right now and would have thought of nothing more than the weekend and Sakura. But now...

He shook his head lightly and walked out. He emerged at the back of the cafe just in time to see Hidan dump Suigetsu's body in the back of Itachi's car, which was parked messily next to Sasori's. The back parking lot was reserved for all the staff, but Deidara never bothered to park there, for convenience sake. Besides, he wasn't worried about someone scratching his car because he could see it through the glass all the time.

Itachi shot a look at Deidara. Deidara wasn't looking at him though: he was watching Hidan manhandle Suigetsu with too much worry and slight desperation on his face for somebody who was in the Akatsuki. But the Uchiha wasn't about to change his opinion on the guy just because he looked like he would bite his nails off from anexiety any moment: after all, he could probably have been worried about something else. At the final moment, though, Deidara looked up and his eyes met Itachi's. But this time, his expression didn't change. He didn't suddenly smirk or laugh at Itachi. He just looked at him and looked away. A very quick meeting of the eyes. Itachi had seen the apprehension, but he didn't know what to make of it. He shrugged to himself as Hidan straightened up again and complained about how he had to "rough up the kid enough and knock him out again". He looked at Itachi.

"He's just going to be lie in your back seat just like that?"

Itachi nodded and slid into the front seat. He turned the key in the ignition and the car started up. His car had tinted windows anyway, so it wasn't like anybody could look in.

"Fine," Hidan shut the door and moved away as Itachi slowly eased the car out. Deidara ripped an annoying loose thread from his apron and walked back inside wordlessly.


	37. The Reason Why I Hate You

As Itachi drove, he kept glancing in the rear view mirror at Suigetsu's limp body. He felt surge after surge of guilt, mainly because the guy was Sasuke's friend. And Sasuke had seemed so comfortable around him, as in Sasuke didn't think Suigetsu was a waste of time. And that was pretty rare.

_I mustn't deter from my earlier thoughts...I have to focus on foiling the Akatsuki's plans._

He drove into the underground car park of the Akatsuki building and wondered where exactly he was planned to put Suigetsu. He couldn't think of many places, but Pein had told him to bring him back here. Sure enough, Zetsu was waiting by the parking spot designated specifically for Itachi.

"The boy is in the back?" Zetsu asked as Itachi got out. The Uchiha nodded. He was glad that Hidan had knocked him out again, because if Suigetsu had been awake, he would have recognized Itachi and that would be _another_piece of information he wasn't meant to know. Itachi did not want to give Pein more reasons to kill Suigetsu.

"I'll take him. You go upstairs,"

Itachi nodded again and glided towards the elevator. He refrained from glancing back and seeing what exactly Zetsu was doing, but once he heard the door close, he locked his car using a remote.

_Beep beep._

He couldn't help himself. He glanced back over his shoulder.

But Zetsu was gone.

* * *

**That night**

"Suigetsu?"

Mangetsu looked around the silent house. He raised an eyebrow. He had come home for a moment to find his room in slight disarray - actually that was an understatement. His closet had been shoved open and his shoeboxes tossed aside. His bed had been upturned and papers were strewn all across the place. He'd automatically assumed that Suigetsu had been at it again. It wasn't the first time his brother had displayed his disgust ove Mangetsu's actions in this way. Mangetsu found it totally childish.

He sighed and stalked back to his room. He lifted the loose carpet.

His notebook was gone.

_Shit..._ he stood up again, his chest pounding as he ran thoughts over in his head. _Suigetsu...you fool._

He walked out again, ready to find his brother as quickly as possible. That's when he saw it.

_Blood?_

He knelt down. Someone had obviously made a lot of effort to clean up. But they'd missed a spot. Mangetsu brushed the minute spot with a finger. It was fresh. He narrowed his eyes.

_Akatsuki..._

* * *

"Hey...I haven't seen you in ages, have I?" Deidara hauled up the cat that always lurked outside the cafe and brushed it gently behind the ears. "Where've you been, hmmm?"

The cat meowed and rubbed its head against Deidara's chin. The Iwa smiled and put the cat down again. He looked around and sighed, the stability of his ability to think straight still swayed by the fact that Suigetsu was probably in some dank room in the Akatsuki building somewhere.

"Whose cat?"

Hidan dropped a few things into the trash can and dusted off his hands. Deidara shrugged.

"Dunno,"

"Stray?"

"Yeah," Deidara suddenly got the sickening feeling that Hidan might bring the cat back and slaughter it, so he picked it up again for security.

"Meh," Hidan cracked his back and neck. It disturbed Deidara how loud it was. "I'm going home. Pein better not fucking call me, or fucking else. G'night, Deidara,"

The Jashinist headed around to the back of the cafe.

Deidara was about to put the cat down and head for his own car when a motorbike suddenly squealed up to the pavement, its engine revving loudly. The blonde had to take a big step back or the front wheel would have run over his foot. The cat squealed loudly and leaped out of Deidara's arms in fright, its tail brushing his face in the process. Hidan's car backed out and drove off. Deidara watched as the motorcyclist removed his helmet.

_Oh. Fuck._

"M...Mangetsu,"

Mangetsu looked at Deidara with his serious purple eyes. He couldn't imagine ever having the chance to look at the waiter like this...he bared his teeth and immediately clamped a hand around the Iwa's throat, pushing him up against the glass of the cafe.

"Where's my little brother?"

Deidara growled and wrenched Mangetsu's hand away.

"Piss off, un," he said nervously. He glared at Mangetsu despite the fact that he actually felt very sorry for him. "I don't know where he is,"

"Your reaction said otherwise," Mangetsu answered evenly. "If you had no idea what I was talking about, you wouldn't have said 'piss off'. A 'what the fuck are you talking about?' would've been more plausible,"

Deidara averted his gaze.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know,"

"You do. You took him because he read the notebook,"

Deidara felt an overwhelming surge to spill everything to Mangetsu, but he couldn't. Not when the Akatsuki knew what he bombed. Even if Mangetsu _was_kind of on their side.

"He did...," Deidara admitted. "But I don't know where he is, un,"

"You were not the person who took him?"

"_No_,"

Mangetsu said nothing for a moment, thinking. He wanted so much to go over and punch Deidara's face in, but he held back the urges.

_I can deal the blows to him in a much more devastating way later...just...not now._

He stared Deidara down.

_How could he...just bomb the shopping centre like it was nothing...?_

"Who took him?"

_The Akatsuki...they would...they might kill Suigetsu...no._ He shook his head. _They would keep Suigetsu as insurance that I do my job. They wouldn't kill him._

All the same, Mangetsu wanted to know the whereabouts of his brother. He stared intensely at Deidara, waiting for his answer. The blonde shrugged, looking agitated and anxious.

"I think it was Hidan,"

"The Jashinist?"

Deidara nodded slowly, very uncomfortable in Mangetsu's presence. "Yeah...un,"

"Fine,"

Mangetsu licked his lips.

"So you are the bomber?"

Deidara's head snapped up and he met Mangetsu's eyes. "What?"

_He seems horribly distracted, doesn't he? _Mangetsu thought.

"You're a bomber,"

Deidara's throat felt dry. He hated himself as the seconds ticked by. He nodded hesitantly. "Y-yeah," he lowered his head, crossing his arms defensively. "I am,"

"I see,"

_I will pulverize you, Deidara. Just not today._

Mangetsu walked slowly to his motorbike. Strapped on the helmet. And he drove off, not wanting to see Deidara's face for any longer than he had to. He fucking hated the guy, after all.

_Anyone would...after what he's done._

His mind went back.

"Mangetsu! We're going out!"

Mangetsu sighed as he heard the tinkle of keys as his parents got ready to go out.

"Make sure Suigetsu doesn't go out! Remember he's grounded!"

"Yeah,"

The front door opened and closed. Mangetsu put down his pencil and went to Suigetsu's room.

"You heard them, yeah?"

His little brother looked up at him angrily. "Yeah,"

Mangetsu said nothing. He shrugged and walked back to his own room. It was 2 pm, and he was doing some studying on opening a business. It was about twenty minutes later when a large _boom!_shook the house. It felt like an earthquake: the windows shuddered in their frames and pens rolled off Mangetsu's desk. He stood up immediately and rushed to his window. A cloud of grey and black dust rose up from the direction of one of the major shopping centres of the city. He felt Suigetsu come up behind him and try to peer over his shoulder. The shaking was easing up, but it didn't feel like it was stopping any time soon.

"What's happening?"

People spilled out on the streets. Cars squealed to a halt. Horns honked. The cloud kept rising. Mangetsu couldn't speak. He pushed Suigetsu away and headed downstairs. He got out of the house and onto his motorcycle. He wove between vehicles that had stopped and were idling there on the road as their drivers and passengers rushed out onto the ground. He wasn't wearing a helmet - he hadn't been bothered. He kept driving, his whole heart hoping for something he knew was hopeless. He knew exactly where the explosion had emanated from - if you lived here long enough, you'd know too. As he got closer to the shopping centre, people were running from it, the cloud still puffing out and upwards. Screaming rang in Mangetsu's ears and he didn't even drive slower when the amount of people grew denser. He just needed to know...

_No..._

He slowed his motorbike to a stop. He just stared.

The shopping centre his parents said they were going to. It was...

The dust cloud was still large and thick, but Mangetsu could make out outlines of the piles and piles of rubble. He got off his motorbike and raced towards the cloud. A man gave a shout of protest and caution when he saw Mangetsu, but of course, Mangetsu ignored him completely. The dust made him cough uncontrollably and he couldn't go further. He fell to his knees and covered his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut.


	38. Questioning

_Shit. I don't know if I can keep doing this..._ Deidara threw his keys a little too haphazardly onto the table - they slid over the edge and onto the tiled floor, but Deidara paid it no attention. He just glanced at it in acknowledgement and then walked on, peeling off his socks and balling them up as he walked upstairs. The confrontation with Mangetsu was merely another bucket of the icy water that was reality over him - he _never_ consented to the Akatsuki's actions, but he _had_ to, and he really wanted out. He was beginning to think that maybe going to prison was better than kidnapping and killing innocent people. He sighed and was emptying out his pockets when he noticed that his mobile phone screen was lit up - he'd gotten a new message. He hadn't realized. _I thought I put it on vibrate..._ he pressed _read_.  
It was from Sakura. And apparently it had been set quite a while ago, which meant his phone had continuously been trying to alert him. Deidara couldn't believe he didn't notice and swore under his breath. It had been sent about two hours ago.

Hey, you didn't seem good today. What's wrong?

Deidara gripped the mobile tightly. _If only you knew..._he hit reply.

Just tired I guess. I'll be fine tomorrow...hope you're not asleep.

He sent it and tried very hard to think of just her and the feelings he experienced at Koutou with her, but he just could not recreate them. He couldn't even smile. He just stared grimly into empty space, willing someone to come out with a gun and shoot him in the head so he didn't have to deal with his life anymore. Not that he was feeling suicidal, but all the pressure was really getting to his head. Not to mention the look Mangetsu had given him - it was like he absolutely detested Deidara, and the Iwa had no idea what he'd done to make him hate him. He, after all, had never talked to the guy until now.

His voice vibrated again and this time, it made him jump.

Really? Because...don't mind me asking, but...is it about Itachi?

Deidara hesitated before clicking on the reply button again. What could he say? Could he laugh it off as he always did? Or was this a God-given opportunity, a divine indication, that he should open up to her? He swallowed and glanced around his room, even though he knew he was being a tad paranoid to think that the Akatsuki were watching his every move. He'd, after all, taken all due care to act cool, aloof and fine with the organization's activities. He saw that there were no reasons that they should doubt him.

Nah...well, not really. It's a long story, but not something you should concern yourself with. How was the rest of your day?

With that, he tossed his phone onto the bed and pulled his shirt off. He didn't know why and how Suigetsu sparked this particular bout of stress. He, after all, had no connections with him, yet he had felt so _obliged_ to help. He'd never felt that way before. But there was a feeling deeply buried inside him somewhere that made him concerned about the Hozuki. It was weird. And Deidara didn't want to try and explain it.

_**The next morning**_

Sasuke Uchiha looked around the classroom and frowned with deep disapproval of his current situation. He spun the ballpoint in his fingers as he thought _Suigetsu...where the hell are you?_

"Wow, you're so talented,"

Sasuke looked up as Tenten put down her bag and sat in front of him, smiling amiably. "I can do that, too, but it seems you're better than me,"

Sasuke forced a smile and shrugged modestly.

Tenten sighed. "Where's Lee? Seriously, he said he would walk with me to school, but he didn't...I think he's slept in again...,"

Sasuke knew he wasn't imagining it when he detected extreme disappointment in her voice: he wondered if Tenten liked Lee. It was highly possible, considering they were always hanging out together. He peered at her closely and tried to find a hint of a blush or goosebumps but didn't. He didn't look like it, but he found it interesting when his friends had crushes. It was amusing to him when one tried to hide their interest in another.

But still. He had other problems to deal with. Like Suigetsu's absence for instance: a tad late last night, he'd gone to the Hozuki household to check out if he was there, but there wasn't much he could inspect from the outside. He'd contemplated going inside and introducing himself to Mangetsu, but...  
The teacher walked to the head of the room and scanned all the faces. She made a note in her book.

"Suigetsu isn't here?" she asked nobody in particular. There were several murmurs, and a few shrugs, glances towards the back of the room. Suigetsu Hozuki was _not_there. Sasuke tried to shrug it off as something trivial, but that clash with Neji yesterday hung in his mind. He knew Neji was not really the base of Suigetsu's problems, but the Hyuuga made it worse. He looked around. Neji wasn't in this class either, but... he hadn't thought of tracking the Hyuuga down. He would do it later.

"And Lee is also not-,"

"I'm here, Miss!"

A flash of green, and Lee sat down in the seat next to Tenten. "I am sorry I'm late! I had a meeting with Anko!"

"Lee!" Tenten hissed immediately. "You promised to walk with me to school!"

Fifty minutes and three pages of notes later, Sasuke walked out of the class room with the intention to find and interrogate Neji Hyuuga. He wove through the crows as they headed to their next class, his eyes only searching for the smooth, straight locks of light brown hair. He jogged up a set of stairs, deftly avoiding people as he did so. He walked quickly down the new corridor, and upstairs again, where he saw Neji at his locker, looking the same as he always did. As Sasuke approached him, he took one glimpse at him and shut his locker.

"I need to ask you a question," Sasuke said quickly, before Neji could dismiss him and walk away. Neji was cradled two books and a CD to his chest and nodded, looking at Sasuke with his silently condescending eyes.

"Go ahead and ask. But I cannot guarantee an answer,"

"Have you seen Suigetsu?"

Sasuke noticed - as Suigetsu's name came out - Neji tense up.

"Why do you ask?"

"I want to know where he is,"

Neji eyed Sasuke suspiciously for a few moments before answering. The second bell rung. The corridor had gone silent, and only the stragglers were lurking around, one of them looking at the duo with undisguised interest.

"I have not seen him since yesterday," Neji said at last. His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Really?"

Neji seemed a bit offended by this question. He nodded. "Yes, Sasuke,"

Sasuke nodded too. But he didn't know what to think - was Neji lying? To be honest, he couldn't tell. He'd really thought that it was maybe Neji who'd taken Suigetsu somewhere and shut him up for good somehow. Not that the valedictorian was one to lock people up in chains in his basement, but...

_No...he can't be lying._Sasuke had seen the offended expression pass across Neji's face. You couldn't fake those things, no matter how hard you tried - they were just too instantaneous of a reaction. Despite that, however, Sasuke decided to press on. He wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

"I didn't see him after you gave him a talk, either,"

Neji sniffed. "Are you implying something, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Maybe,"

"You'd be wrong then," Neji replied evenly. "In your implication,"

"I won't be unreasonable,"

"But you are wrong,"

Sasuke shut up. He crossed his arms. _It has to be the Akatsuki then...right? Or the ANBU...that has to be it._

"You know about his brother," Sasuke said. A statement. Not a question. But a statement that warranted an answer. Neji nodded slowly, as if he wasn't sure where Sasuke was heading with this.

"Yes, I do," he admitted. His tone implied that he knew more, but Sasuke didn't inquire. Not just yet. He glanced up and down the corridor. "You think they took him, don't you?"

Sasuke blew some air out of the corner of his mouth in slight frustration, which he seldom showed. He didn't know exactly why he was so damn concerned about Suigetsu: yeah, he liked the guy, but his sense of righteousness was screaming at the moment and that didn't even happen for Itachi. Sasuke nodded and looked straight into Neji's eyes, daring him to say something flippant about something so serious.

"Yes,"

"Now you are being reasonable," Neji said. He seemed to be deep in thought, and Sasuke saw a flash of concern, but it was quickly masked by an expression of very practiced boredom. "It will not be the first time they took a family relation as insurance,"

Neji glanced at Sasuke. Noticed the determined glint in the Uchiha's eyes.

"You're not going to look for him, are you?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"You better watch yourself, then," Neji said. He turned away slightly. "Nobody who steps in ANBU business comes out clean,"


	39. Watch Out

"You took him," Mangetsu said bluntly. Pein's eyes were piercing, and the normal person would have withered under it, but not Mangetsu. His own menacing ones looked back into the pair of Rinnegan, daring him to break away from what seemed like a staring contest. But the thing was, that was all Mangetsu could see—the eyes. They were using the holograms again.

"I did," the voice was void of any emotion, and Pein paced around the room a little bit, colliding with Mangetsu's desk, but of course walking right through it. "There are certain measures one must take when they are doing a task as big as this. You must agree,"

"I would hardly call collecting the bijuu a _secretive _task,"

"Well, no, you wouldn't," Pein agreed. He turned to face Mangetsu again. "But it would be secretive to the general public. The ANBU can't risk them knowing, right?"

Mangetsu shook his head. But not in answer to Pein's question. "But Suigetsu won't tell,"  
"You cannot guarantee that,"

"I _can_," Mangetsu's hands clenched into fists, but he relaxed them again, trying ease back into the more patient demeanour he'd forced himself to develop after his parent's untimely death. "He's known for some time now," he added with much strain in his voice. Pein noticed this. But didn't comment.

"I assure you he will be kept in a safe place," he answered, showing no signs of relenting to Mangetsu. "And…," he picked something up, but Mangetsu couldn't tell what it was. "...maybe this was meant to happen, as some sort of…_insurance _that you'll do your job,"

Mangetsu's skin prickled. They'd agreed ages ago that Mangetsu was trustworthy—but he couldn't blame Pein. If he'd been his position, he wouldn't let Suigetsu go too. Which was why he felt so fucked up inside at the moment, because he felt like he was doing this out of his obligation to do so as an older brother. Like it wasn't genuine—like he didn't really want Suigetsu back, but he had to try, because he was related to him. But there was also this other thing combatting against that inside him: a part of him telling him to _prove _he wasn't just doing it out of some sort of "big brother duty". And this was _genuine. _

"Fine," the older Hozuki finally surrendered. He threw up his arms in mock exasperation. "Keep him,"

If there was anything suspicious in Mangetsu's sudden change of heart, Pein didn't notice it. Or if he did, he didn't care.

He knew everything, after all.

They disconnected the hologram-producing devices without another word, and Mangetsu suddenly felt kind of foolish. Someone like Pein wouldn't understand things like losing a relative—right? It made Mangetsu feel like a whiney kid, even though his demand to have his brother back was well within reason. But probably not within reason to Pein, who probably saw his duty to Akatsuki more important than anything else in the damn world. Mangetsu swallowed the hard lump in his throat and walked out and into Suigetsu's room. He and his brother hardly ever talked really—you wouldn't call asking them how their day was actual _talk. _There had never really been a firm brotherly bond, and it made Mangetsu feel sick. At first after his parent's death, Suigetsu had gone crazy. And that was why he was sent to Orochimaru's. Mangetsu hadn't played a part in the decision—it was the authorities. And when Suigetsu came back because he was accepted by that Hiashi guy, Mangetsu told himself he would try and fix his brother for the sake of the Hozuki clan. But that didn't work, because it just wasn't in Mangetsu's capacity to be a teacher. So in the end, nothing happened, and Suigetsu had just developed into what he was by himself, without any support or encouragement from anybody else that cared about him. Yes, half of Mangetsu thought Suigetsu was an annoying little shit whether or not he did anything to bother Mangetsu, but…

_At least he has friends…_

Mangetsu had seen him with that new guy lately—what was his name again? Sasuke? Yeah, that was him. He wondered how the two got along all of a sudden. Sasuke seemed so serious and brooding, and Mangetsu would've assumed as easily as anybody else would that Suigetsu's talkative and teasing personality would only annoy the heck out of him. Mangetsu shrugged. He wasn't about to try and explain their kinship. He sighed heavily and pondered on his next course of action—he wasn't in the mood to write anymore, considering now that his notebooks were exposed. He had no idea why Pein had suggested a written form in the first place, but now that they'd developed the hologram thing, Mangetsu thought they wouldn't need that shit anymore. The Hozuki had thought that they wanted it in writing so that if Mangetsu ever did something wrong, they would show the books to the ANBU, who would recognize his handwriting. It seemed like such a trivial concept, but it was trustworthy.

_Knock knock. _

Mangetsu's head turned in the direction of the front door. He walked cautiously down the stairs and opened the door slowly. Mellow, orangey afternoon sunlight streamed in.

Sasuke Uchiha. And he had one of Suigetsu's helmets under an arm. He'd taken it for no reason, but he'd seen Suigetsu's motorbike parked in that odd spot around the corner, and he had to take it. The two stood there with a touch of awkwardness before Mangetsu spoke.  
"What do you want?"

He looked into Sasuke's eyes, and found a hard brick wall. Nothing in, nothing out. Almost like Pein's, except in _Pein's _Mangetsu didn't register any emotion—with Sasuke, there was definitely emotion, but he barred them. He wondered if Sasuke knew full well about the situation, and started to feel a little hopeful, which was odd of him.

"About Suigetsu…," Sasuke said slowly. "Do you know where…he is?" he asked this, even though he knew the answer was _no. _He just wanted to see what Mangetsu would say. Seeing him, Sasuke thought of his own brother, and felt a little bothered.

Mangetsu averted his gaze. "No,"

"You would have an idea,"

_He definitely knows. _Mangetsu crossed his arms. That would explain why Suigetsu and Sasuke were friends despite their personality clash—if Suigetsu had asked Sasuke for help should anything happen. The older Hozuki didn't know whether or not to feel angry that Suigetsu had told somebody.

"I have a guess," Sasuke said. "That it's not the ANBU, is it?"

Mangetsu's head snapped back to look at Sasuke in mild shock. _How much does he know? _Everyone else would've readily assumed it was the ANBU—just because of their reputation around the city. But Sasuke knew better than everyone else. Everyone else didn't know Mangetsu was a snitch. And if he was a snitch from the ANBU to the Akatsuki, and the ANBU found out, surely they would've just killed the two. Unless they found something in the situation that they would gain from, in which case, yes, they would take Suigetsu in the formulation of a plan that would take advantage of Mangetsu's access to the Akatsuki. On the other hand, hypothetically, if the Akatsuki thought that Mangetsu was only _pretending _to be on their side and that the whole thing was just an ANBU-operated sham, then _they _would take Suigetsu. They would definitely take Suigetsu if they thought there was any chance that Mangetsu was an unstable agent.

Mangetsu didn't nod or shake his head, but he did lower his eyes. He felt messed up inside, but most of all, he knew he couldn't rely on somebody like Sasuke Uchiha to help him. That would be wrong, because—

He looked at Sasuke again. _He doesn't know his brother is in the Akatsuki. _And being a big brother in the dilemma he was right now, he didn't feel it was right to pit the younger brother against the older one. But could he hint at it? He glanced around. Nobody would suspect anything of Sasuke standing in his doorway—after all, he and Suigetsu were friends. The ANBU wouldn't suspect shit of it, and the Akatsuki, well, they had Suigetsu as so-called insurance already anyway.

The avoidance of Sasuke's question about how he thought that it wasn't the ANBU who'd taken Suigetsu was hint enough anyway. Mangetsu _really _didn't want to be the one to tell Sasuke that Itachi was in the Akatsuki and had Suigetsu detained somewhere inside his workplace. But…Mangetsu just felt the urge to.

"Watch yourself," Mangetsu put a hand on the doorknob, signifying that the end of the conversation was looming very closely. "And your brother,"

_What? _Sasuke took a step back as Mangetsu closed the door. His brother? _Itachi_? Sasuke all of a sudden wanted to punch the door down and demand to know exactly what he meant by that, but instead just walked back the way he'd come, trying to shake off the qualms he had. He glanced at Suigetsu's motorbike and decided to ride it himself. He wasn't used to it, but he'd tried once or twice before thinking he really preferred a car. He settled into it and pulled the red helmet over his hair. It was secure around his face. As he eased the bike out onto the road, he couldn't help but think that what Mangetsu had just said wasn't exactly a new thing—Sasuke had always suspected his brother was up to something that was not good. He worked with that hotel after all, with that woman who was constantly associated with Pein, the CEO of Akatsuki. Sasuke had known that from the beginning, but he didn't think that that would actually mean Itachi would be delving head-first into the rumoured corruption business. _Watch yourself…and your brother. _Those had been Mangetsu's words. Did that mean Sasuke was being watched? Or…?

_No. _Sasuke stopped at a red light. It was something else. Mangetsu had been smart. _Someone like him, I guess he has to watch anything he says to anybody. _Especially when there was a chance that he was telling Sasuke something revealing about the Akatsuki—the link between the two families of Hozuki and Uchiha were now somewhat deadly, especially since Itachi knew where Suigetsu was. If Mangetsu was seen talking to Sasuke, then one might assume that Mangetsu was now taking revenge for it through Itachi's own little brother, and then the Akatsuki would assume now that Mangetsu was going to defect.

_He literally meant to watch my brother. Literally. _Sasuke turned a corner, honestly a little surprised he still had such fluid control over a motorcycle. _He only told me to watch myself to set the context. _When one said to "watch yourself" or to "watch your back", it meant that trouble was coming for you, and you had to take care. Sure, Mangetsu probably intended for it to have that meaning too, since he was obviously aware that Sasuke knew of his predicament, and was telling him to be cautious, but Sasuke could tell there was something more. If somebody else who knew about the whole situation had heard it, yes, it would've sounded like Mangetsu was warning Sasuke because he was feeling bitter about his own brother being taken, and was just declaring some hostility towards the two Uchihas. But Sasuke had seen the look in Mangetsu's eyes—he was giving Sasuke a hint. To watch his brother. Sasuke's mouth was a thin line and he was whizzing along on a main road when his phone let out its melodious song from his bag. On his back. He ignored it and kept going.

* * *

Deidara smiled vaguely, feeling kind of irritated.  
"It's nothing,"

"Come _on_," Sakura slapped him firmly on the chest. "I _know _there's something between you and Itachi," her curious gaze changed into a concerned one. "Is it…you know…about…what is it about?" she didn't want to say outright _is it about me _for the fear of sound narcissistic.

"You tell me," Deidara said, hating himself for acting like such an asshole. But he couldn't help it—lately, he'd just been so fucking stressed he couldn't even bring himself to sleep. He just couldn't be _himself. _He corrected himself, however. "I mean…I…,"

Sakura bit her lip and Deidara reached out and patted her on her bare shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring way. He'd taken her out the back to talk, much to the annoyance of Sasori, who once again voiced that he wanted him working, not flirting. Nevertheless, the redhead had gone out into the front of the café and actually took over Deidara's job and took orders. Deidara could tell Sasori was _happy _for some reason, and Deidara didn't think it was a woman. Or a man. It was probably the notice that the Akatsuki were up and running and about to launch an attack.

"Is it about me?" Sakura finally said in a choked voice. She looked up into Deidara's eyes with its subtle eyeliner and suddenly felt like trash. Like what if it was about her? Then that would mean Itachi really did like her, right? Did that mean she led him on?

_I wish it was just about you. _And basically, it was, but with Akatsuki mixed in, she wasn't the soly cause. Deidara shrugged.

"Kind of, hmmmmm…don't worry about it,"

"No!" Sakura took a reckless step forward and was so close to Deidara they might as well have been hugging. "How can I not?"

Deidara looked at her sympathetically, but he was tired. Stressed and tired. Make that really fucking stressed and really fucking tired. "Sakura, it's just not…it's complicated, un," he took a step away from her, his heart heavy, but the rest of his body telling him to take time away from her. Sure, she was the whole damn reason he loathed Itachi in the first place, and it would've made more sense he wanted to stay as close to her as possible, but…just faced with her, his problem, he just couldn't take her. And the fact that his ass was on the line if he didn't help the Akatsuki didn't exactly help.

"I should get back to work," he said finally. He looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry,"

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Sakura demanded, angry. The way Deidara just stood there was just so infuriating. He looked all jumpy and Sakura just wanted to relieve him of that, but clearly…she herself took a step back and crossed her arms defensively. The sight made Deidara feel both exasperated and guilty. He, after all, still liked her a lot. He looked at her forlornly, kind of regretting that he'd taken her out on the date. If he hadn't maybe he wouldn't feel so responsible at the moment. But it had been such a memorable night, and…he looked at the ground beneath his feet.

"Seriously, I thought we were going great!"

"We were," Deidara answered softly. He looked at the fury in her eyes and crumbled a little inside.

"That's right, we _were_," Sakura huffed. She looked at him critically. "What's with us right _now_ though, Deidara? How about _you _tell _me_,"

She turned away defiantly. Deidara groaned a bit in annoyance, the way that guys do when their girlfriends are being particularly difficult. "It's…," he clammed up. He reached out for her and tried to pry her arms apart. She wasn't even looking at him. He finally got her to give him her hand and he held it firmly. "It's hard,"

Sakura glanced at him. She _knew _it was hard—you could read it in his every movement. But what was so hard? Telling her about Itachi? If it was a normal case of jealousy, a love triangle, it wouldn't've been that difficult for Deidara to simply say "I hate Itachi", right? And if it _was _merely a love triangle, all Deidara had to do was ask her out, not push her away. So what was it about? Deidara pulled Sakura towards him. She moved with reluctance, but she came to him anyway. They both looked at each other—the chemistry was still there, albeit a little dampened by the sadness in both their eyes—and Deidara leaned forward just a little to see how she would react. She blushed but she still looked angry. The blonde just closed his eyes and kissed her.

Sakura blinked in surprise, but then got control of herself and relaxed. His arms had snaked around her and were holding her against his lean body. She felt the breath come out of him as he became relaxed in their embrace. She could practically smell the tension rising off his body like steam. As much as Sakura had always longed for such a romantic moment, she hoped Deidara wouldn't ruin it like some sleazy guys would and turn the kiss into—

_But wait. _

Sakura hugged Deidara tighter and opened her mouth a little, in the process prying the Iwa's own lips apart, much to his astonishment. He hadn't really wanted to do that himself, because he wanted to show her he had self-control, but if _she _wanted it, then he could be very flexible. He smiled a little to himself and in the midst of their tongue-lock they'd forgotten where they were. Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and he ran his hands down her back, sending tingles down her spine, especially because of the little nips his mouths there gave her. He was about to push her against the wall when—

"Deidara,"

The two pulled apart instantly and looked in embarrassment at the man who had just interrupted them.

Sasori.

Sakura looked away from him blushing sheepishly and adjusting her headband, wanting something to do with her hands. Deidara looked at his boss and apparent _partner, _discomfited that he saw. But Sasori didn't show anything in his eyes really, like always. _He knows how I kiss anyway…_Deidara thought, recalling the night he'd apparently bedded Sasori in his drunken stupor. He never wanted to revive that ever again, and was annoyed that it kept popping up every time he saw Sasori.

"Get back to work already,"

"S-sorry," Sakura said hastily. Sasori took one glimpse at her and just said nothing. He was just looking at Deidara.

"My bad, danna,"

Deidara looked at Sakura. She looked back at him and smiled, a mischievous look in her eyes as she mouthed _oops _and licked her lips. It was as if all of the pressure and anxiety he'd felt before, all the desire in him to have her gone so that he didn't have to confront the fact that his life was as problematic as ever, had completely been wiped off the table. It was amazing. The _kiss _had been amazing, as corny as it seemed to call it that. But as with many corny things, it was true, and it was the only way Deidara could describe it. Not to mention his hormones were raging at the moment and he was totally turned on. He wondered how far they would've gone if Sasori hadn't come in and stopped them. Not that they'd do it right there at the back of the café—he probably take her to his car and drive off somewhere.

"I should go then," Sakura brushed a hand against Deidara's shoulder, not daring to even give him a hug now that Sasori was around. She looked at him pointedly. "Stay happy, okay, Deidara?"

"I will," _Now I will. _He waved to her and watched her round the corner before facing Sasori again.

"That girl again," Sasori commented. He stood aside as Deidara stepped back into the kitchen. It hadn't been a question, so Deidara didn't know what to say back except "yeah," and awkwardly go back to his normal post. Sasori followed him, however, which meant the conversation wasn't over.

"You won't have time for that anymore,"

Deidara shrugged. "We'll see, won't we, un?" he was very much unfazed by Sasori's words. He was _that _happy. And only moments ago he had been a grumpy, self-pitying little bitch. It was weird what a kiss could do to you.

* * *

Neji put his things down and pulled the hair tie out from his hair. He ran fingers through the brown strands even though there were no knots, sighed heavily and buried his head in his hands. There was an uncomfortable, nagging feeling inside of him and he didn't know the source of it. Well, there had always been that nagging feeling to be honest. Like they said, being mean is harder than being nice. But that wasn't to say he was just going to stop being mean because it was "hard": it would totally be…

_What? Demeaning? _

Neji scoffed at himself. How would Sasuke and Suigetsu see him if he suddenly turned from a cold, calculating guy to a nice, soft one? They'd probably pity him, in his eyes. Think he was a weakling. And Neji didn't want that.

But he _was…_kind of sick of doing what he did.

He could hear Hinata and Hiashi talking downstairs. He could hear the strain in his uncle's voice every time he talked to him. It used to please him, to see the effect of his actions of Hiashi, but...

Neji sighed. What the hell was going on with him?


	40. Danna

_**Hey guys – just want to apologize for long period of not writing, but I've been knee deep in assessment and long lists of cases I have to read for exams. I've been meaning to update for a while, but I'm just terrible at handling both this and uni work…I'm so sorry! And if my writing sounds shit, please don't blame me=( I also realized I'm dragging on and on with the plot soo much so yeah I'm going to really get into it in the next few chapters. **_

Itachi couldn't take it, but he had to—sitting behind his desk, he couldn't help but strain to listen to the scuffling that went on behind the closed doors to his right. He was sure that there were many others places that were more suitable for detainment, but for some reason even though Zetsu had told him he would take care of Suigetsu, he'd brought him up to Itachi's office and stored him away in a side-room Itachi never knew was useable. Zetsu had explained that somebody would pick him up later, but it had been three hours and nobody had come by. The Uchiha glanced at the lower right hand corner of his screen and saw that it was looming closer to dinner time. He wanted to go home for dinner, especially since he'd basically ditched Sasuke too many times for him to want to count, and his brother would probably begrudge him about it. As much as Sasuke appeared to not give a crap about anything, Itachi knew it ticked him off when he always had to eat dinner alone. Sasuke liked company more than he liked to show. But…

_What am I to do about…? _Was somebody else going to feed Suigetsu? Or not? Because that would be perhaps a little harsh. Itachi wondered whether it was his responsibility to give him food. It probably was. Maybe they were testing him. He chose the ignorant route—if they hadn't told him he had any responsibility over the guy, he wasn't going to impose it upon himself out of guilt or something. He checked that he had done everything he needed to get done before getting out of his chair and, glancing once more at the closed door, walked out.

Sasuke was making dinner when Itachi got back. And by the quantity, it seemed that Sasuke was intending to leave some for him. His younger brother barely glanced at him when he came through the door and just kept stir-frying. There was something weird in the air, and Itachi knew at once that Sasuke knew that Suigetsu was missing. Not that Itachi was going to reveal that he knew too.

"Hey," Itachi emptied his pockets onto the kitchen counter. "How was today?"

"Fine," Sasuke answered immediately. He turned his body a bit while keeping an eye on the things in the pan. His eyes roamed over the items Itachi had dispensed onto the counter: wallet, loose change, keys, key card and a mobile phone. Nothing particularly interesting, but that depended on how you looked at it.

Silence once again enveloped the two. Itachi stretched a bit and then headed upstairs. Sasuke took this opportunity with a firm grasp and scooted over, grabbing the mobile phone and going to the obvious place—the contacts list. There was nothing but initials, which made it all the more suspicious. Even _he _wasn't in the contacts list. He narrowed his eyes as he made connections in his mind.

_D…Z…P…K…S…_

_Deidara…Zetsu…Pein…Kisame…Sasori. _

It was obvious. Sasuke _had _seen Deidara, Sasori and Zetsu outside the café, after all, and Itachi had mentioned Kisame before. He quickly memorized "D's" number—it was the easiest to confirm, after all—when phone started vibrating and a new screen popped up: _P calling. _

Sasuke definitely wasn't going to answer. He put the thing down, walked calmly back over to the pan and picked up a pair of wooden chopsticks.

"Your phone," he droned. At once, Itachi came downstairs, having changed, and said "thanks" before answering the call.

_Pein, _Sasuke thought.

"Yes," Itachi said into the mobile. His back was to Sasuke, who dished the stir-fry onto a large dinner plate, listening. Itachi's shoulders were tense.

"Okay," Itachi hung up. Sasuke smirked at him when he turned around.

"A two word phone call," Sasuke joked. His tone wasn't exactly jocular, but there was that look in his eyes which indicated he was teasing Itachi. Itachi plastered a semi-fake smile on his face. Pein had just told him that Suigetsu was going to be stowed away on the ship somewhere, ships apparently being the transport-of-choice of the Akatsuki.

"Your boss?"  
Itachi tensed involuntarily and turned to look at his younger brother, but Sasuke wasn't even looking at him. He wondered if he was just being paranoid, or was Sasuke really actually suspicious? He couldn't tell. Two Uchiha could play at that game, after all. Itachi weighed the risks. Then he shrugged.

"Yeah,"

Sasuke didn't reply. He just spooned out two bowls of steaming brown rice and put them on the counter. He had appeared to lose interest completely, but Itachi was still on guard, just out of anxiety. He picked up a fork and began eating, even though he had lost his appetite completely. Sasuke, on the other hand, was buzzing with a new excitement, something which was oddly hard for him to contain.

* * *

Deidara threaded the towel beneath his hair and curled it around his neck. He emerged from the steaming hot shower stall, grinning insanely because of what had happened earlier. It had planted a thousand thoughts into his head, and pretty much all of them were horny. Of course, he now knew he had a very, very, _very _high chance of success of dating her officially once and for all. Surely, after the dinner and that kiss they were…

His phone vibrated. His grin only faltered slightly as he reached over for it. It was a message from Zetsu, telling him about Suigetsu. Deidara had forgotten about that kid. He hit reply and typed "okay" before putting the dreaded phone aside again to put on some clothes when the doorbell rang. Deidara groaned in annoyance. _Nice timing, whoever you are, un. _He decided to go answer the door shirtless and was tying up the drawstring on his loose pants when he opened the door to face his danna, who looked like he just taken a shower recently too. Deidara was immediately alert. Sasori _never _showed up to his place. _Never. _So what was he doing now?

The redhead just looked at him impassively before pushing past him and scanning the inside of his house. Deidara closed the door slowly, wishing now he'd put on a shirt or at least kept the towel with him, because his skin was crawling and he had a bad feeling about what Sasori had decided to come in for.

_Relax, _the Iwa thought to himself. _He could be here about the Akatsuki, un. _

But somehow, he didn't think it was going to be.

"That Sakura girl," Sasori began, finally. "Are you sure about her?"

The question caught Deidara off guard. Sasori wasn't about to give him dating advice, was he?

"Uh…what do you mean, un?"

"I mean that…are you sure you want to get one of…_those…_right now?"

_I suppose "those" means a girlfriend, _Deidara thought. He sneezed, feeling Sasori's eyes on him. "Um. Sure, un. Why not?"

_I'm crazy about Sakura. _

But of course that didn't mean Deidara was completely comfortable talking about her with Sasori. He didn't even feel the desire to brag. It just felt…strange talking about that stuff with his danna.

"You're naïve as ever, brat," Sasori said slowly. He bit his lower lip, which appeared to be slightly dry. "You know when you make an emotional connection with someone, they are only burdens later on,"

_Burdens? _

"For the enemy," Sasori clarified, raising an eyebrow at Deidara's slightly angry, slightly confused face. "They would target them. Your loved ones will only be your weaknesses,"

"She won't be a _burden_,"

Sasori scoffed at the acid in Deidara's tone. "You'll come to regret it when we start," he raised a hand to his mouth and peeled off a tiny flake of dry skin off his lip. He looked at it with slight disgust. He brushed his fingers and looked at his employee, his partner. "And then you'll be sorry you did not listen to me,"

"I'm sorry I do listen to you to begin with, un," Deidara said, a bit pissed now. "If it wasn't for the fact that you all know I blew that…that thing up, un, I wouldn't be in this,"

_Now _that's _a thing I regret. _

Sasori said nothing for a moment. Mollified.

"What are you even here for, danna, un?" Deidara clenched and unclenched his fists. He exhaled slowly, trying to get Sakura out of his mind as he dealt with Sasori, since the two obviously did not mix. "Is there something up with Aka—,"

"No," Sasori interrupted. "I just wanted to tell you what I just told you,"

_You came up here just to tell me that? Wait…_

Deidara cocked his head slightly.

"Danna, are you _jealous_?"

Sasori's reaction was so immediate it was scary. His head instantly whipped around and locked Deidara down with a stare so intense, cold and malicious it was like the whole house had dropped to a sub-zero temperature.

"What makes you think that, brat?" he spat. Then he seemed to correct himself and withdrew into his emotionless mask. Or seemingly emotionless mask. Deidara had just caught a nanosecond-long glimpse of it, but now Deidara knew Sasori _did _seem to experience the effects of what made man foolish and, well, basically what made him human – emotions.

"You came to my house just to berate me about Sakura, un, and you never come up to my house,"

Sasori narrowed his eyes at him and seemed to be merely his disapproving danna once more, but the atmosphere was telling. It was obvious Sasori was green-eyed.

_This is ridiculous…what we had was just casual sex…yeah…and I was drunk. Pretty sure he was too. _

Deidara ran a nervous hand through his wet blonde hair and became even more conscious of the fact he was not wearing a shirt. _Dammit, man. _

"Well…," he began awkwardly. Sasori rolled his eyes in exasperation and shook his head.

"You are bad at this, Deidara," the redhead said. His voice sounded slightly frustrated, mixed in with a bit of sadness. It sounded odd coming from Sasori. He walked towards Deidara, and was soon nose-to-nose with the blonde. Deidara didn't move an inch. His heart was pumping wildly, and his brain was screaming for him to get the fuck out of there, but his body clearly thought otherwise. Sasori leaned forward a little, his warm breath tickling Deidara's skin, and very gently, very softly brushed his lips against Deidara's in the most fleeting of kisses. He withdrew, looked Deidara in the eyes, before gliding past the still-frozen Iwa and out the front door. It took a few minutes for Deidara to finally get his shit together. He licked his lips slowly. The kiss had been so fast and gentle that he wasn't sure he really felt it – but the suppleness of Sasori's lips lingered on his and there was no way he could deny that there had been contact. His mind was blank. He didn't know what to make of it exactly.

This was exactly what he needed. One "total mindfuck" to add to his pile of "I'm in deep shit", "I need to get the fuck out of here" and "I'm so fucking screwed".


	41. When the Phone Rings

The next day, Sasuke couldn't confirm Deidara's number for the simple reason that Deidara wasn't working. Which was odd, considering the fact that he always worked. It hadn't taken Sasuke long to figure that out. And so when he found the waiter absent after twenty minutes of waiting, he wondered if the blonde knew that he was going to be tested today, which was a completely ludicrous idea. Sasuke was reaching into his bag for his wallet when the bell above the door tinkled and Sakura walked through, looking around curiously. But she hadn't spotted for Sasuke, and she was obviously only looking for somebody else.

The person at the counter.

Who wasn't here today.

Sasuke clasped his hands together and watched. His pink-haired peer waited impatiently until Hidan floated out for a brief moment to grab what seemed to be salt shaker. She reached over the counter, grabbed his elbow, and demanded to know where Deidara was.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Hidan shook her off. "Let go of me! I don't fu—I don't know,"

"Is he sick or something? Is he at home?"

"I just said I don't know," Hidan looked over his shoulder. "Ask Sasori. He probably knows,"

"Ask him for me,"

"What? Fine,"

According to the clock in Sasuke's mind, it was two minutes and sixteen seconds before Hidan came back out with the news.

"He's sick," he chirruped. "The weakling,"

"Is he at home, then?"  
"Where else would he be, smarta—,"  
Hidan couldn't finish. Sakura had left already, the bell tinkling loudly as the door swung shut. Hidan shrugged and wiped his hands with a dishcloth, returning to the kitchen. Sasuke got up immediately, sliding a five dollar note under his cup, and following Sakura as she hurried down the street.

"Sakura,"

Sakura stopped and looked back. She smiled only slightly when she saw Sasuke. She was rubbing her hands together and looked very, very distracted.

"Hey," she said quickly when the Uchiha reached her side. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," he said. "I was in the café,"

"Really?" Sakura bit her lip. Her cheeks were flushed pink. "I'm sorry, I was in a rush, I'm—,"

"Deidara?" Sasuke knew he sounded horribly out of character, especially since he never seemed to take interest in anything anybody said, but he was doing it for a good reason, and when there was a good reason, it called for talkativeness.

"Um…yeah," Sakura looked away. "I already tried calling him, and he didn't pick up and…you know…yeah,"

Sasuke didn't say anything. He had kept the number he'd memorized yesterday in his phone, and wondered if Deidara was even using the same mobile to answer Sakura's calls and to answer Akatsuki's calls. Given the consequences, probably not.

"Well, I think I'll go to his place now. I'll talk to you later, Sasuke…—,"

She patted him absentmindedly on the arm and continued walking.

And, of course, Sasuke followed.

* * *

Deidara had turned off his phone. He knew Sasori could still contact him through the Akatsuki phone, but he was hoping Sasori wasn't that desperate. When he eventually turned his normal mobile back on, he cursed himself to see five missed calls from Sakura accompanied with two texts asking him where he was. He was about to call back when he heard footsteps scuffle at his front door. He put the phone down carefully and walked over.

"Deidara?" came the muffled female voice. The Iwa sighed in immense relief and hurried over. Once it opened, Sakura hurled herself into him and hugged him tight. He wrapped one arm around her and used the other hand to pat her reassuringly on the head. He took her a few steps back into the house and nudged the door shut with his foot. He didn't want anybody to see. Because after it all, there was actually some truth in what Sasori had said – except the part about burdens. Deidara wouldn't consider them burdens, just…

_Stop thinking about him…and that. _But it was hard, trying to forget about that kiss when he was with the other person he'd gotten kissed by yesterday.

"What's wrong with you? !" Sakura stepped back without taking her arms away and looked up at him grumpily. "I was worried sick! What are you—you're not even _sick_,"

Deidara smiled sheepishly despite how nervous he still felt. "I _am _sick," he joked. "I'm lovesick, un,"

"You're so lame and cheesy,"

Sakura took the opportunity to scan his house. It looked very Deidara-ish. It was simply furnished, and there was an odd clay piece here and there, but other than that there were no other decorative pieces.

"So…why are you home?"

Deidara let his hand slide from her back to her hand and led her over to the couch. He sat down, simultaneously eyeing his Akatsuki phone from a distance, and made a show of sighing.

"I'm just tired, I guess, un. Too much work,"

"But you never miss a day," Sakura inched closer to him on the couch and looked up at him—he did seem kind of frazzled.

"I know,"

Deidara looked into the air in front of him and was lost in it for a moment, stunned momentarily by the sheer fucked-up-ness of his life. He felt Sakura shift beside him, turned to her, and realized that for a moment now, he could ignore everything and just…

"So…how was school, un?"

"It was alright," Sakura let her pinkie brush against Deidara's thigh. "I…you know…,"

"You missed me too much, right?" Deidara teased. Ironically it was in the same tone of voice that used to annoy the crap out of Sakura, but this time, it made her smile. She nodded shyly.

"Here," Deidara wrapped both his arms around her and kissed her gently on the head. "I'm right here, yeah?"

Sakura nestled her head into his shoulder and nodded. Deidara closed his eyes and dared his phone to ring.

But it didn't.

For now.


	42. Sorry Guys

Hey guys, this is really important to me so I'd like that you would respect my decision to stop writing this fanfic for some time (probably ages) because I don't think I'll be able to finish it as well as it started: it's not really a lack of confidence, but I just think wow, 40 chapters, I'm really dragging this along, and I haven't planned ahead well. I thank **everyone **who has reviewed/ read / favourited this story, because without them, I seriously wouldn't continue writing for this long, because I'd think nobody was **interested.** It's not really a major part of my reason for discontinuing this particular fanfic, but when I started studying law, all the cases I had to read and remember got really hectic and stressful, and because The Bakery is one of my biggest fanfics (if not the biggest), I couldn't plan ahead well because my brain was clogged up! It happened with my other fanfics Repression and An Akatsuki Valentines - sh*ttiest ending ever, because I just didn't know what I could do. I'M SO DODGY at planning, and I ruin my stories, or so I think. I'm a bit fussy, if not a perfectionist.

But the thing is, after I aim to improve my planning-ahead, structure, grammar, vocab and the like, I think I would continue this fanfic. I might start over (probably boring for those of you who have followed this thus far - but who knows, I might add a few things here and there!) or I might just add chapters on the end and make note of what I have made changes to. I hope this doesn't annoy the crap out of anybody. I decided to include the spoilers only because those who are impatient or curious or whatever might like to know...but if I do choose to continue this in the future, it might have the same ending, and it might not.

I might write shorter fanfics in the mean time, but the longer ones will have to wait. If anybody has a tumblr and would like to ask anything (please no hate messages), my username is itstheakatsuki. And of course you add tumblr. com after that to get to me. It links to my personal tumblr.

Seriously...thanks for reading guys, but I really, really, really, REALLY want to improve my writing in general, to make things better for my audiences. So thank you for your patience in reading, and I hope you've enjoyed my stories to some extent. I do apologize, but it's a personal decision, and it's not because I got lazy! :)

If you wanted to know what I've planned up till now, keep reading. If not, DON'T READ ANY further, but thanks so much for reading. I appreciate you all who read my fanfic/s, even if you don't like it that much. I still like the fact that my work is being read:)

* * *

**SPOILERS (not everything will be explained in these spoilers. But if you do have queries, I might be able to answer them. Just ask through my tumblr)  
**

I haven't planned (as I said above) every single detail of this fanfic, so yeah...it's pretty dodgy. These mightn't have been the final plans, because I change a lot on the way. Probably another reason why my fanfics are so messily thrown together.

LOVE / PAIRINGS

Deidara, of course, ends up with Sakura. I have no idea what in the world I was going to do with Hinata. I think somebody inboxed me about how she could end up with Kiba, and of course I thought that was a possibility. But what about Sasori and his lust for Deidara? Read on!

Tenten asks Lee out. He accepts, and he always stuffs up on dates, but Tenten still loves him of course.

Sai, after a long week of deliberation, asks Ino out. Shikamaru sees them together and feels bitter, but does nothing about it (typical Shikamaru).

THE PLOT

Since Mangetsu now knows that Deidara is the killer of his parents, he turns the tables; he tells ANBU all about Akatsuki to the best of his knowledge, and eventually the ANBU move the Jinchuuriki (at least, those which are willing to co-operate) and tell Mangetsu to tell the Akatsuki misleading information. Mangetsu does so. But not according to his orders, Mangetsu particularly plays with the information regarding Deidara's Jinchuuriki, so that he can have a one-on-one fight with Deidara. The two fight, but then something intercepts them - namely, Pain, who has become aware of Mangetsu's betrayal. When Pain is about to lay the killing blow, Deidara forms a distraction and saves Mangetsu, because of his overwhelming guilt from the bombing (and knowing it killed the Hozuki parents) and because he wants to escape the Akatsuki. He leaves Mangetsu at his house, but now since Deidara has done this, he hides from Akatsuki.

As you can see, the plans of the Akatsuki to reach the ANBU had been somewhat thwarted by Mangetsu's sudden change. They don't get much of the Jinchuuriki. Thankfully, Mangetsu changed Deidara's plans around before Deidara was faced with his first Jinchuuriki target: his friend, Gaara.

On hearing about what happened to Deidara, Itachi tries to find him, because now he knows Deidara is actually good. He locates him, and that's when the two learn that Sakura has been kidnapped as well (Sasori took her, out of annoyance and part jealousy), and the two have to go rescue her. In this way, Itachi betrays the Akatsuki. But the two are stopped by Kakuzu and Kisame.

With relations to Suigetsu being kidnapped, Sasuke confirms Deidara's number by calling it when Deidara is working. He then follows Deidara (because Itachi would've noticed him for sure) and he eventually finds the ship. He overhears that Suigetsu is there, and he sneaks onto the ship. He was about to walk into a corridor that is being watched by a certain Akatsuki spy (Zetsu) when somebody grabs him and hauls him back. It is Neji, who tells him he's been watching him ever since he asked about the ANBU, Akatsuki, and alluded to Suigetsu's kidnap. The two find Suigetsu with the aid of Neji's byakugan, and eventually release him. Unfortunately, they would encounter Hidan along the way, which adds some difficulty. Once they have saved Suigetsu, the two run outside and they find Kakuzu, Kisame, Itachi and Deidara. Suigetsu, without the strength to fight, runs away. Itachi, Sasuke and Neji face Kisame and Kakuzu, leaving Deidara to find Sakura. Neji however is injured very early into the fight, and cannot tell Deidara where Sakura is with his Byakugan. Panicked, Deidara goes and finds Hinata, who goes with him atop one of his clay birds. She tells him that Sakura is with somebody in the school. Not wanting Hinata to come with him, Deidara instructs the clay bird to take Hinata straight home and goes into the school by himself.

Deidara finds Sasori inside the school, in the main assembly hall. Sakura has been knocked out by one of Sasori's potent drugs, and he was about to make her into a puppet. He tells Deidara if he can't defeat him under an hour, he will make Sakura into a puppet, and Deidara will have to be his. Deidara of course accepts the challenge. He defeats Sasori a little too late, but he is quick enough to stop Sasori activating another drug which would kill Sakura. Severely injured, Deidara embraces Sakura and uses the last of his strength to call Itachi. He faints, and the story cuts off.

* * *

I appreciate every one of you who read my fanfic, review or not. I don't ask for reviews simply because I just want people to enjoy the fanfic without needing to feel the obligation to provide commentary/ feedback. I can see how many views I get on my fanfics, and it's this which keeps me going. Thanks so much guys.


End file.
